East-West regional dimensions in European climate policy

The document analyzes how the European Union has integrated New Member States (NMS) into its climate framework through various effort-sharing mechanisms. It highlights the systemic economic and energy divergences between the EU15 and NMS, such as higher energy intensity and coal dependence in the East. The report examines the evolution of target distribution from the Kyoto Protocol and the EU ETS Phase II to the 2008 Climate and Energy Package, concluding that while centralized governance and GDP-based redistribution have improved fairness and ambition, they have often come at the cost of economic efficiency and domestic sovereignty over energy mixes.

• New Member States (NMS) exhibit significant energy sector divergences from the EU15, characterized by a much higher dependence on coal and an energy intensity that is double that of the EU15.
• NMS face a higher risk to energy security than the EU15 due to a concentrated dependence on Russian natural gas.
• The transition to a low-carbon economy in NMS is hindered by lower innovation capacity, as evidenced by fewer patents in clean energy technologies and lower public energy-related R&D spending relative to energy consumption compared to Western Europe.
• During the EU ETS Phase II (2008-2012), conflict arose because the Commission's revised National Allocation Plans (NAPs) resulted in NMS being under-allocated by approximately 27.5% relative to an indicative Kyoto target, while the EU15 were over-allocated by about 8.7%.
• The 2008 Climate and Energy Package shifted from a cost-efficient approach to an effort-sharing approach based on GDP per capita to ensure fairness, as a cost-efficient model would have placed a disproportionate burden on poorer Member States.
• The redistribution of auction revenues and non-ETS targets in the 2008 package significantly reduced compliance costs for NMS, though the absence of liquid RES trading mechanisms likely increased overall efficiency losses.
• The EU's experience suggests that climate policy negotiation is facilitated by the ability to link climate goals with a complex web of other policies and the presence of neutral actors to define the bargaining space.
• There is a fundamental tension between the EU's centralized climate instruments, such as the ETS and benchmarking, and the legal sovereignty of Member States over their own energy mix as defined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

APA

Spencer, T., Fazekas, D., Laing, T., & Cooper, S. (2011). East-West regional dimensions in European climate policy. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/wp3-east-west-regional-dimensions-in-european-climate-policy.pdf

Chicago

Spencer, Thomas, Dora Fazekas, Tim Laing, and Simone Cooper. East-West regional dimensions in European climate policy. Climate Strategies, 2011. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/wp3-east-west-regional-dimensions-in-european-climate-policy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Spencer |first1=Thomas |last2=Fazekas |first2=Dora |last3=Laing |first3=Tim |last4=Cooper |first4=Simone |title=East-West regional dimensions in European climate policy |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=December 2011 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/wp3-east-west-regional-dimensions-in-european-climate-policy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{spencer2011eastwest, author = {Spencer, Thomas and Fazekas, Dora and Laing, Tim and Cooper, Simone}, title = {{East-West regional dimensions in European climate policy}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2011}, month = dec, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/wp3-east-west-regional-dimensions-in-european-climate-policy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }