EUROPEAN UNION CLIMATE POLICY - SITUATION AND FINANCING

Climate change is much more than an environmental problem, and climate action is one of the greatest challenges of our time. This is an issue that has no national boundaries and needs global action. For this reason, climate protection is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2015. At the same time, combating climate change is an urgent priority within the European Union (EU). Therefore, in the last few years, the European Union has adopted a number of documents with the common goal of making progress in tackling climate problems. Climate action is also at the heart of the European Green Plan, an ambitious growth strategy that says there will be no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and that economic growth is not dependent on resource use. An ambitious direction also stems from the fact that for the next long-term budget (2021-2027), the Commission has proposed that at least 25% of EU expenditure (around (sic) 320 billion) will be directed to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and sustainable development goals, with climate integration in all EU programs. Moreover, building a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe is one of the four main priorities of the European Council's strategic programme for 2019-2024. Finally, one of the last steps in 2020 is the adoption of a European climate regulation to include climate neutrality, in EU legislation by 2050. As a result, the European Union's economy is the only one in the world that has passed legislation covering all sectors of the economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. The EU is currently on track to achieve its 2020 GHG reduction target and has unveiled a plan to further reduce emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030. Namely, between 1990 and 2018, GHG emissions declined by 23%, while the EU economy increased by 61%. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of the EU's climate policy, state and characteristics over the past 30 years. Second, the document contains an analysis of financial investments in actions related to the achievement of climate objectives, but also an overview of economic losses related to climate change. The conducted analysis indicates that the economic losses related to the climate are constantly growing, and the European Commission is allocating an increasing part of its climate budget for the purpose of improving the climate transition. On top of that, COVID-19 was another red flag. In the end, it can be concluded that at the time to come, after a decisive and clearly defined direction of climate policy and the formation of a long-term vision, the European Union will have to act persistently to meet its own goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement.