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The Environmental Sustainability of the European Union Countries: Collective Identity as a Stratum for Decarbonization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2023

Mehmet Direkli Open the ORCID record for Mehmet Direkli [Opens in a new window]  and
Glory Chiyoru Dike
Mehmet Direkli*
Affiliation:
Cyprus International University. North Cyprus via Mersin 10 Türkiye.
Glory Chiyoru Dike
Affiliation:
Cyprus International University. North Cyprus via Mersin 10 Türkiye.
*
Email: mdirekli@ciu.edu.tr
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Abstract

To stay within a ‘well below 2°C’ climate change track, the Paris Agreement and goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for climate action – a global decrease in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Arguments in this study are derived from the hypothesis that a collective identity among the EU states would foster collective actions toward reducing global warming. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore how different EU countries (Poland, Italy, and Germany) employ three decarbonization pillars: waste recycling, eco-innovation, and policy innovation (WEP) as a yardstick to mitigate global warming and attain the EU’s ‘net-zero’ emissions by 2050. The study also utilizes annual data collected from the Eurostat indicator from 2014 to 2020. The findings reveal that Germany has the most successful average recycling rate in Europe; 65.5% of the country’s domestic waste is either recycled or reused. On the other hand, Poland is a low performer in eco-innovation. Additionally, an analysis of policy regulations reveals that both Germany and Italy can comply with the policy and regulations of the EU on carbon neutrality. At the same time, Poland, on the other hand, lacks the commitment to carbon neutrality due to its reliance on carbon-intensive coal. Therefore, this study recommends translating EU climatic laws in their simplest forms into local laws. More so, citizens’ behaviour will be further influenced toward environmental sustainability by this collective mindset.

Type
Article
Information
European Review , Volume 31 , Issue 6 , December 2023 , pp. 662 - 690
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Academia Europaea Ltd

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