Abstract:

The European Union is the world leader in the struggle against global warming. Apart from its participation in global climate agreements, the EU has created its own climate policy which is strong related with the energy policy. This paper presents an evaluation of EU climate action and its course. The author will also analyse the main objectives of the 3x20% climate and energy package and its preliminary effects. An analysis of EU climate policy commitments by individual member states has also  been  carried out, thus confirming that this by all means a difficult process with regards to such factors as a diversified raw materials base or differences in energy cultures. Taking this into account, the results of the author’s  research concerning the execution of the energy and climate package by specific EU members states is presented. The paper also discusses further stages of the more ambitious commitments of the European Union, such as the policies falling under the 2030 Framework for climate and energy which are intended to complete the findings of the Paris Conference. Moreover, an innovative strategy of the European Union, termed the European Green Deal is presented in the paper with its  objective being to lead Europe's transformation into a zero-emission world continent. The paper seeks to realise the research objectives defined in the introduction and to verify the following research hypothesis: The European Union undertakes increasingly extensive climate obligations and pursues multidirectional and innovative strategies for the improvement of the climate. With regards to research problems, varied research methods have been applied, including descriptive, comparative, critical literature and source material analysis as well as ratio analysis. The statistical data come from Eurostat databases and the European Environment Agency (EEA).