The most important goals on the Europe 2020 Strategy contained were the climate/energy goals, which determine the achievement of other targets of the strategy. The aim of the article is to evaluate the implementation of the climate/energy targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy by the EU Member States in 2010 and 2019 and to compare the results achieved by them. To measure them, a basic set of indicators was used for this purpose, which the authors supplemented with additional indicators. The evaluation was done using the taxonomic and zero-unitarization method. They made it possible to integrate all indicators. Moreover, the added value in relation to other studies is: the use of individual indicators, instead of general ones obtaining additional information about the internal structure and nature of the implementation of multidimensional groups of targets and focusing solely on the achievement of climate/energy targets. The achieved results not only reflect the progress of the Member States in achieving the climate/energy targets and the differences in the level of achieving objectives between countries, but they are also discussion on future strategic objectives, their indicators and necessary directions for a further community climate/energy policy.

The purpose of the article is to analyse the level of energy poverty in the EU member states for the period 2010–2020. The research was carried out on the basis of the author’s Synthetic Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index created on the basis of the zero-unitarization method. The proposed index allowed for the integration of 4 out of 13 indicators provided for the study of energy poverty in the Recommendation of the European Commission 2020, and 1 selected by the authors. The assessment of changes in the level of energy poverty over time in 24 EU countries using the method used adds value compared to the assessment methods used so far in this area. Previous studies of energy poverty levels have focused on individual countries or small groups of countries. Rarely have such studies covered the majority of EU countries, and even more rarely have they been conducted over a long period of time. The study carried out showed significant differences in energy poverty levels among EU members. Results obtained not only reflect the progress of member countries in reducing energy poverty, but also allow for a discussion on future approaches regarding its reduction.

Research and development (R&D) spending in the energy sector, which is aimed at exploring ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other things, plays a vital role in achieving the goal of climate neutrality. The purpose of this paper is to assess the environmental performance of R&D spending in the energy sector of selected EU member states from 2011–2017/2019, and to compare the results. Taxonomic research with the zero unitarization method was used, which enabled a synthetic assessment of EU countries according to the environmental performance of the total spending in the energy sector and an analysis of the changes in performance for six categories of spending in this area. The assessment of changes in the environmental performance of individual categories of R&D spending over time using the applied method was an added value compared with the assessment methods previously used in this area. The study found that there were significant differences in the level of environmental efficiency of R&D expenditures in the energy sector between countries, changes in environmental efficiency in most of the countries studied were not satisfactory, the most environmentally efficient expenditures were on renewable energy, other power and storage, hydro and fuel cell technologies, and the least on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The results reflected both the member states’ progress towards climate neutrality and the discussion on the environmental performance of the means and directions of actions aimed at this.

Poland’s achievement of sustainable development goals, including environmental goals, requires substantial financial outlays and the necessity of incurring high expenditures by, among others, local government units (LGU). The article focuses on green investment expenditures incurred by LGU budgets. The aim is to identify and diagnose the spatial variation of these expenditures in the context of sustainable development goals and the new taxonomy for classifying economic activities as environmentally sustainable. The added value of the article is: first, to identify the structure of green investment expenditures of LGU, which enables to show their changes in the context of sustainable development goals, and second, to conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of these expenditures, including all cities with county rights and municipalities, divided into urban, rural and urban-rural types in Poland into three periods: 2004-2006, 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. The study, carried out using the TOPSIS method, showed a wide variation in the level of green investment expenditures made from the budgets of local government units.

The period of validity of Directive 2014/95/EU, which imposed on enterprises the obligation to present non-financial information in separate non-financial reports, the so-called ESG was aimed to check its effects, complementary regulations and actual actions in the environmental area. Numerous works have analysed various aspects of non-financial reporting in the context of the directive, including several on ESG reporting in relation to air pollution emissions. However, it has not been examined yet whether there is a relationship between the level of reporting and the effects of pro-environmental activities in the context of the impact of regulations on it. A research gap in this area was identified, and therefore, the aim of the paper is to examine how selected chemical companies in Poland adapt to the EU guidelines on ESG reporting in the environmental dimension and whether it has an impact on reducing their pressure on the environment. The research period is 2010-2022, and the three-stage study used a quantitative-qualitative methodological approach. In the first and third stages, descriptive statistics and time series analysis methods were used. The second one includes methods such as content analysis, case analysis, GES Risk Rating, and expert analysis. The research carried out made it possible to conclude on the impact of non-financial reporting regulations on the environmental pressure.

The most important goals included in the Europe 2020 Strategy are climate/energy targets, which determine not only the achievement of its other goals but also climate neutrality by 2050. This article aims to assess the efficiency of implementing the climate/energy targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy and to analyse changes over time, taking into consideration the structural diversity between the old (EU 15) and new EU members (EU 13) in the period of 2014–2018. The assessment of changes in the efficiency of climate/energy targets over time adds value to the evaluation methods used to date in this area. This was done using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist index. Earlier works usually specified only the level of target achievement, mostly jointly in relation to all of the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The efficiency of their implementation at the macroeconomic level has not been studied. Furthermore, the added value of this paper consists in obtaining additional information concerning the internal structure and character of the studied efficiency of old and new member states. Changes in the efficiency level have been analysed with regard to the key climate/energy indicators used to monitor the Europe 2020 Strategy. Based on the results, the EU countries were divided into six groups with similar levels of efficiency in achieving energy and climate objectives and ranked using the DEA–Malmquist index according to changes in their level over time. This makes it possible not only to assess the performance of countries but also to formulate recommendations for decision-makers.