ABSTRACT
The analysis of the case studies reveals, as was to be expected, a host of different attitudes and developments with regards to the climate change issue. Yet, one common trend found in five out of the six countries is that emission reductions are progressing at a slower pace than expected or that emissions are even projected to increase. This indicates that current policies are inadequate and puts into question the realization of most emission targets. Problems with reaching emission targets are to some extent, to be expected in those countries where environmental policy generally does not have a high priority (such as France, Italy or Spain). In fact, Spain has always projected emission increases, arguing, along with other cohesion countries, that these were inevitable as its economy needed to catch up with the rest of the EU. However, even proactive countries such as Germany and Sweden are encountering problems. In Sweden stabilization looks unlikely, with the government fairly unconcerned about the situation, while in Germany emission reductions are likely to slow as soon as the new Länder emerge from the post unification economic slump. The proactive countries have been quick to set emission reduction targets (in the case of Germany a very ambitious one) but their implementation is not proving easy. The aim of the following sections is to comparatively evaluate the main constraints to realizing emission reductions in the case study countries.
