What, How and Where: An Assessment of Multi-Level European Climate Mitigation Policies

Abstract The European Green Deal's goal of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 requires a nuanced mix of policies across different sectors and levels of governance. 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. The paper uses the Climate Policy Dataset to assess European climate policies from 1990 to 2020. The assessment is guided by three key perspectives: policy density, sectoral focus and policy instruments. Two new indicators are proposed for policy evaluation: the emissions coverage indicator, which assesses sectoral application, and the Policy Mix Thickness Index (PMTI), which measures policy complexity. The paper aims to enhance our understanding of the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of EU climate policies. The analysis shows that the policy packages of the EU and its Member States have evolved in a complementary manner, both in terms of sectoral focus and instruments used.