Response of the EU Member States to Climate Change in the Context of EU Policy and Strategy

The aim of this paper is to present selected results achieved by the Member States of the EU in the context of the recent global and European strategies oriented toward enhancement of the role of renewable energy sources and on mitigation of negative climate changes in the Earth. Special attention has been paid to those countries that have approached or already reached, in the year 2012, a share of renewable energy indicators at a percentage level higher than the required 20%.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wyników analizy odnoszącej się do krajów członkowskich UE w kontekście założeń strategii globalnych i europejskich w zakresie osiągania wskaźników zwiększenia udziału energii odnawialnych w ogólnym zużyciu energii elektrycznej do co najmniej 20%. Jak wynika z przeprowadzonych badań już do roku 2012 niektóre kraje wskaźniki te znacząco przekroczyły, co wymaga poświęcenia im szczególnej uwagi

MANAGEMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: EUROPEAN EXPERIENCES AND STEPS FORWARD

The issues of the renewable energy and regional development have become major priorities for public policymakers across the globe. Therefore, this study explores some European experiences and steps forward in the field of the management of renewable energy and regional development. Firstly, an overview of renewable energy issues in European regions is revealed, and secondly, some measures and actions for managing regional development of renewable energy in Romania taking into account the financial allocations through the Cohesion Policy are disclosed. The results of this study may be used for upcoming research in the area of implementing renewable energy projects for urban and rural development of the regions.management, renewable energy, regional development, European Cohesion Policy, Romania

ENERGY – CLIMATE CHANGE PACKAGE IMPACT ON ROMANIAN URBAN AREAS

Europe recognized the tight link between energy and climate change and took - through a coherent legislative package - the role of a global leadership to tackle climate change, to face up to the challenge of secure, sustainable and competitive energy, and to make the European economy a model for world sustainable development in the 21st century. EU targets to improve the relation between energy and environment are very ambitious and can not be reached without a clear understanding of the requirements of European policies and the effort that each and every Member State has to do. In these conditions, the present paper aims to make a short qualitative analysis on the possible impact that the legal package energy-climate change could have on housing and urbanism in Romanian towns in order to raise some question marks and alert the decision makers.sustainable energy, housing, urbanism, public authorities.

Significance of the Climate and Energy Package for the Development of Renewable Energy Sources in the European Union

The Climate and Energy Package obliges member states to pursue a common aim - to increase the share of renewable energy to 20% in the general energy balance of the European Union by 2020. This is a challenging task, since the renewable energy sector requires significant financial support to increase its competitiveness, compared to traditional energy sources. When adopting the Energy Package, leaders of member states did not anticipate the economic crisis and its impact on the European Union’s economy, and on the energy sector in particular.Pakiet energetyczno- klimatyczny zobligował kraje członkowskie do spełnienia wspólnego celu jakim jest zwiększenie udziału energii z odnawialnych źródeł energii do 20% w ogólnym bilansie energetycznym UE do 2020.r Jest to zadanie niezwykle trudne gdyż sektor odnawialnych źródeł wymaga rozwoju i ogromnego wsparcia finansowego, w celu zwiększenia jego konkurencyjności w stosunku do źródeł konwencjonalnych energii. Przyjmując pakiet energetyczny przywódcy państw członkowskich nie przewidzieli kryzysu gospodarczego i jego wpływu na gospodarkę Unii Europejskiej, w tym na sektor energetyczny

Transition To A Green Economy In The Context Of Selected European And Global Requirements For Sustainable Development

The aim of the paper is to present selected aspects of sustainable development related to environmental protection and the creation of a green economy, with special reference to the global and European context for the development of an environmentally friendly goods and services market, taking into account the cases of Central and Eastern European countries. One of the most important elements of the strategy to promote clean economic growth and foster the transition to a more sustainable and greener economy is the energy sector, where the aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sulfur oxides and support the development of renewable energy sources. Some of the achieved results in this area are presented in this paper.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wybranych aspektów zrównoważonego rozwoju w odniesieniu do ochrony środowiska i budowy “zielonej gospodarki” w kontekście uwarunkowań globalnych i europejskich dla rozwoju rynku towarów i usług środowiskowych (szczególną uwagę poświęcono w nim krajom Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej). Jednym z najbardziej istotnych aspektów jest również promowanie czystego wzrostu ekonomicznego w celu wzmocnienia przechodzenia do bardziej zrównoważonej i bardziej zielonej gospodarki w sektorze energetycznym, przez wdrażanie redukcji emisji gazów cieplarnianych i tlenków siarki oraz przez rozwój energetyki bazującej na odnawialnych nośnikach energii. Pewne osiągnięcia w tej dziedzinie zostały zaprezentowane w niniejszym artykule

AGRICULTURE IN ROMANIA IN THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATION INTO EUROPEAN STRUCTURES DURING POST - ACCESSION

European Union and its Member States shall adjust some provisions of the development strategies aimed at increasing food production in sustainable ways, protecting natural resources and increase competitiveness of European agriculture on the world market. Romania faces imbalances in market conditions is not rationally use land particularly favorable to obtain a competitive agricultural supplies. Large annual variations in crop conditions in which the yields per hectare and per animal is about half the EU15 average does not provide the power necessary at affordable prices, especially for vulnerable population groups. Addressing structural and operational problems of the institutional system of agriculture in Romania\'s European integration process is an important way of overcoming the situations to which the elimination of disparities in economic development and social peace disturbed by high and rising prices of food, produced in quantities increasing imports. In the current international situation in which Romania difficulties in structural adjustment in agriculture and reduction of disparities compared to EU Member States, a national policy of granting real priorities for the sector is badly needed. These priorities cover both ways of achieving the overall objectives which fall within the strategic guidelines of the European Union and European integration meets the needs and solving specific national targets.European integration, rural development, agricultural policy, national objectives, agricultural holdings.

Sustainable Development in the European Union and World Economy-Main Selected Aspects

Main aspects are discussed in the paper from the EU and global perspective, with special reference to: the global partnership for sustainable development; fighting poverty and promoting social development; sustainable management of natural and environmental resources; trading in greenhouse gas emission allowances; main global and European challenges; goals and challenges facing the European Union member states as stemming from major strategic European Union renewed documents promoting sustainable development; especially promoting consumption and production that is sustainable and environmentally-friendly and green labeling system; a detailed look at "new" environmental policies; with special reference to sustainable transportation; a strategy for the sustainable use of natural resources; preventive strategy (preventing the creation of wastes) and waste recycling; sustainable and competitive tourism.Analizie poddane zostaly również wyzwania stojące przed państwami Unii Europejskiej, wynikające z nowych strategicznych dokumentów Unii Europejskiej, mających na celu promowanie zrównoważonego rozwoju, w tym w dziedzinie zrównoważonej produkcji konsumpcji, przyjaznego dla środowiska naturalnego "zielonego " systemu etykietowania, nowych celów i wyzwań w odniesieniu do polityki ochrony środowiska, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem zrównoważonego transportu, strategii zrównoważonego wykorzystania zasobów naturalnych, zapobiegania powstawaniu szkodliwych odpadów i promocji recyklingu oraz rozwoju zrównoważonej i konkurencyjnej turystyki

CLIMATE CHANGE – CHALLENGE, ADAPTABILITY, SOLUTION. CASE STUDY ROMANIA

The global crisis has effected all the spheres of human activity and not only. Environment seems to be more vulnerable than expected and the climate responds through changes that appear to get out of our hands. That is why we need coherent and well defined policies than can be implemented as soon as possible without any setbacks. The present paper outlines the existing situation of climate changes and the context in which they appeared, pointing out the activities deployed by the European Commission, shows what has been done so far, bringing into discussion the case of Romania, emphasizes the impact on different aspects that Man depends on and underlines the future plans of the ones responsible to deal with such problems.climate change, policy, structural funds, best practices.

Dedicated versus mainstreaming approaches in local climate plans in Europe

Cities are gaining prominence committing to respond to the threat of climate change, e.g., by developing local climate plans or strategies. However, little is known regarding the approaches and processes of plan development and implementation, or the success and effectiveness of proposed measures. Mainstreaming is regarded as one approach associated with (implementation) success, but the extent of integration of local climate policies and plans in ongoing sectoral and/or development planning is unclear. This paper analyses 885 cities across the 28 European countries to create a first reference baseline on the degree of climate mainstreaming in local climate plans. This will help to compare the benefits of mainstreaming versus dedicated climate plans, looking at policy effectiveness and ultimately delivery of much needed climate change efforts at the city level. All core cities of the European Urban Audit sample were analyzed, and their local climate plans classified as dedicated or mainstreamed in other local policy initiatives. It was found that the degree of mainstreaming is low for mitigation (9% of reviewed cities; 12% of the identified plans) and somewhat higher for adaptation (10% of cities; 29% of plans). In particular horizontal mainstreaming is a major effort for local authorities; an effort that does not necessarily pay off in terms of success of action implementation. This study concludes that climate change issues in local municipalities are best tackled by either, developing a dedicated local climate plan in parallel to a mainstreamed plan or by subsequently developing first the dedicated and later a mainstreaming plan (joint or subsequent “dual track approach”). Cities that currently provide dedicated local climate plans (66% of cities for mitigation; 26% of cities for adaptation) may follow-up with a mainstreaming approach. This promises effective implementation of tangible climate actions as well as subsequent diffusion of climate issues into other local sector policies. The development of only broad sustainability or resilience strategies is seen as critical.We thank the many council representatives that supported the datacollection. Special thanks to Birgit Georgi who helped in setting up this large net work of researchers across the EU-28. We also thank the EU COST Action TU 0902 (ledbyRichardDawson) that established the core research network and the positive engagement and interaction of th emembers of this group. OH is Fellow of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and was funded by the UK EPSRC LC Transforms: Low Carbon Transitions of Fleet Operations in Metropolitan Sites Project (grant number EP/N010612/1). EKL was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czechia, within the National Sustainability Program I (NPU I) (grant number LO1415). DG ac-knowledges support by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), Italy ("Departments of Excellence" grant L. 232/2016). HO was supported by the Ministry of Education and Research, Estonia (grantnumberIUT34-17). MO acknowledges funding from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Spain (grant number IJCI-2016-28835). SS acknowledges that CENSE's research is partially funded by the Science Foundation, Portugal (grant number UID/AMB/04085/2019). The paper reflects only the views of the authors. The European Union, the European Environment Agency or other supporting bodies are not liable for any use that may be made of the information that is provided in this manuscript