Towards Understanding Interactions between Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Climate-Well-Being Linkages. Experiences of EU Countries

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a challenge for all countries in the world. Their implementation may turn out to be a compromise or the creation of effective interactions that dynamize sustainable development. To achieve the SDGs, it is essential to understand how they interact with each other. It seems that in the times of the climate and health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for the environment and ensuring a healthy life and promoting well-being at all ages is the basis for environmental, economic and social sustainable development. The aim of the study is to compare the degree of implementation of the goals of sustainable development in the scope of goal 13 “Climate action” and goal 3 “Good health and well-being” in the EU countries. In addition, we analyze how trade-offs and synergies between these goals have developed. Data from the Eurostat database were used to achieve the goal. The study used the method of multivariate comparative analysis—linear ordering of objects. The technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) method was used to measure the studied phenomenon. The results indicate a different degree of implementation of the sustainable development goals related to climate change and the improvement of health and social well-being. Only a few countries have synergy in achieving these goals, most of them compromise, manifesting themselves in improving one goal over another. In the group of analyzed EU countries, a simultaneous deterioration in the effectiveness of achieving both objectives were also noted. Our research also shows that energy policy is an important attribute in improving the achievement of these goals. The conducted analysis fills the gap in the research on the implementation of selected sustainable development goals and their interactions. It contributes to the discussion on increasing the links between them, in particular with regard to emerging compromises. This research can provide a basis for re-prioritizing and intensifying the actions where individual EU countries are lagging most behind.

The Effect of Environmental Degradation, Climate Change, and the European Green Deal Tools on Life Satisfaction

“…Well-being is a complex concept that has been studied by many authors both in its objective and subjective dimensions. From an objective perspective, well-being has been related to wealth [18], economic growth [19,20], education [21], health [22,23], environment [24,25], and energy [26,27]. Likewise, Emmerling et al [28] associate increases in subjective personal well-being over time with factors of sustainable development and high technological and economic growth based on the consumption of fossil fuels, together with the rapid development of human capital.…”

Does CSR Affect the Profitability and Valuation of Energy Companies? An Example from Poland

“…The Polish energy market is unique in the European Union, due to the largest share of hard coal and the use of lignite to produce electricity (48% hard coal and 29% lignite in 2018) [62,63]. This is due to, inter alia, delays in the implementation of the European energy policy [64,65], which will result in an accumulation of changes in the sector in a relatively short time. One of the main challenges of decarbonization in Poland is the abandonment of lignite, which is enforced by the regulations on the reduction of pollutant emissions [66].…”

Renewable Energy Plants and Business Models: A New Rural Development Perspective

“…Empowering farmer-owners is not only important to obtain higher revenues and a better quality of personal and family life but also essential for the farms' economic viability, which is vital for the farm's continuity and therefore for RD [2,22,43,44]. Thus, it can be argued that the economic sustainability of the farms is necessary to comply with SDG11 [21], and by extension, SDG3-Well-being [1,20] and SDG10-Reduced Inequalities [20].…”

“…Renewable energy (RE) plays an essential role in providing sustainable and clean energy necessary to mitigate climate change and to reduce its consequences on the environment, health and social well-being [1]. However, the dissemination of RE is not conflict-free.…”