ABSTRACT
Reaching the climate objectives at the lowest cost possible has been important for European businesses as well as for consumers. In addition to cost- effectiveness comes fairness, which has many dimensions. The EU accepts its global responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a faster pace than other countries. Furthermore, there is the issue of a fair distribution of effort between the EU’s Member States. Political decisions on the EU’s climate ambition have always been agreed unanimously and consensus is sought for the individual greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of each Member State, which are adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure with qualified majority. This requires great attention to the political, economic, and industrial differences between Member States and the distributive impacts of the EU’s overall climate policy.
