The Future of Climate and Energy in the EU

Abstract

This document treats climate change as a negative externality originating from greenhouse gas emissions produced by mankind. The focus of this article lies on emissions originating in the energy sector and the EU’s strategies to combat climate change. Energy security is explored as a whole and then centered on the issues the EU faces with regards to energy security. The strategies which the EU has developed to combat climate change while maintaining a competitive and secure energy sector are extremely important as the EU is highly dependent on imports of the resources for energy. The EU will be increasingly dependent on the imports of gas and there is only one affordable supplier which already supplies the largest shares of any mainstream fossil fuel imports into the EU. Increasing dependency on this key stakeholder brings risks and these must be carefully considered when high ranking officials make decisions. However, with the amount of nuclear energy supply being reduced, the transition into an emission free energy sector is not an easy shift and this will take time and therefore temporary middle checkpoints are necessary to support the shift towards climate neutrality.