Review #17

We are pleased to present the seventeenth issue of 4liberty.eu Review, titled “Green Development: An Opportunity for CEE?”. This time, our primary focus is on the future of the region in light of the challenges related to much-needed energy transformation.

We trust that our Reader will find here not only captivating ideas, but also a source of empowerment – to be able to brave the storms of the energy crisis that is now trundling through Europe.

In its report on the Green Deal, the European Commission states that the transformation must take into account all relevant aspects and their interconnectedness – from the climate to the landscape to the social.

The alternative to command-and-control systems is trying to transfer external benefits or costs back to perpetrators in monetary form. In case of positive externalities, subsidies are introduced to convince people to undertake more beneficial actions.

Similar to many post-socialistic economies in Europe, GHG emissions have significantly dropped in Slovakia since 1990. Slovak GHG emissions decreased by almost 40% between 1990-2000, and the decrease in emissions continued until 2015.

In the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the ongoing green development debate in the European Union, one can discover a conflict of interest within Hungarian energy policy.

Lithuania’s plan is focused on ensuring energy independence and expanding the green energy infrastructure typically via subsidies or compensations for alternative energy.

The Czech Republic plans to phase out coal by 2038 at the latest, but the Russian war in Ukraine might alter this deadline. This goal is in line with European goals to reduce harmful emissions that further warm the planet.

The European Green Deal is a dramatic challenge for an unhealthy European economy. Let us hope we will remember the EU and the Green Deal as a torchbearer in many fields – such as sustainability,

The Iberian Peninsula has been, for a long time, considered to be an energy island due to the reduced connection to the western part of the continent.