A blessing or a burden? Assessing the impact of Climate Change Mitigation efforts in Europe using Quantile Regression Models

Climate change received substantial attention because of its implications on all spheres of life. This study examined the effects of climate change mitigation on the economic, environmental, and social development of 18 European countries based on the environmental performance index for data from 1981 to 2018; control variables include foreign direct investment, trade openness, renewable and non-renewable energy, population growth and life expectancy. Panel quantile regression result shows that climate change mitigation is ineffective in promoting economic growth in an aggregate manner; only high and moderate environmental performance ranking countries manage to spur economic growth and social development. Low environmental performance rankings countries reveal no impact of climate change mitigation. Climate change mitigation promotes environmental development for all countries. Trade openness and energy choices are crucial to ensure climate change mitigation efforts. Findings indicate that the European Union needs well-designed strict policies that emphasize and help countries increase the share of renewable energy compared to fossil fuels and promote the integration of climate mitigation technology at the national and regional level through lenient tariffs, subsidization, financial aid, and technical assistance that help low economic growth countries accelerate the transition that is required to achieve overall economic, social, and environmental goals.

Automated summary

This study examines the effects of climate change mitigation on the economic, environmental, and social development of 18 European countries. The results show that climate change mitigation has no overall effect on economic growth, but only high and moderate environmental performance ranking countries can spur economic growth and social development. Low environmental performance ranking countries reveal no impact of climate change mitigation. Climate change mitigation promotes environmental development for all countries. Trade openness and energy choices are crucial to ensure climate change mitigation efforts. The study suggests that the European Union needs strict policies to increase the share of renewable energy and promote the integration of climate mitigation technology.