European strategy for achieving climate neutrality and analysis of legal instruments for its implementation

Abstract

Given the intensification of human industrial activity in the twenty-first century, the issue of climate neutrality is becoming increasingly relevant, especially for the European continent, where environmental security is a key element of political interaction. The study aimed to examine the peculiarities of the European policy on climate balance by analysing various initiatives in the context of their implementation results. The main methods used were the statistical method, which assessed quantitative indicators in the field of climate protection in several countries, and the method of system analysis, which was used to consider the key elements of the European policy of environmental protection. The study determined that the problem of climate preservation and neutralisation of the consequences of human industrial activity is the main task for which European countries have modernised and updated the regulatory framework and adapted legal mechanisms and legislative instruments. A rational and balanced approach to the protection of the population – both at the national and regional levels, as well as at the universal level – has been a key component of achieving the sustainable development goals for the next fifty years. Reducing emissions and greenhouse gases, switching to environmentally friendly energy sources, using energy-efficient technologies, and increasing taxes on the use of fossil fuels, according to the European Green Development Strategy, were the main points of achieving climate neutrality. Through the prism of analysing various regulations and legislative documents at the level of the European Union (EU), the main positive and negative aspects of their implementation in practice were identified and summarised. In the context of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, the author emphasises the need to update several existing climate strategies to minimise their environmental impact. The results and conclusions of the study can be used as a practical basis for the development and implementation of new climate neutrality and green energy strategies