What, how and where: an assessment of multi-level European climate mitigation policies

The European Green Deal’s goal of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 requires an adequate mix of policies. This paper analyses three decades of climate policy from a historical perspective to provide insights into the multi-level policy framework within the EU and its Member States. Based on the Climate Policy Dataset, the paper develops an assessment guided by three key perspectives: policy density, sectoral focus, and policy instruments. Two new indexes are proposed for policy evaluation: the emissions coverage indicator, which assesses the sectoral application of policies, and the Policy Mix Thickness Index, which measures the complexity of the policy packages in terms of instruments employed. The results indicate that different strategies have been adopted at the EU and national levels in terms of policy instruments and targeted sectors. EU-level policies tend to complement Member States actions by providing long-term strategies and addressing sectors with limited national-level initiatives.