Three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions come from burning fossil fuels for energy. To confront climate change, the world must move away from fossil fuels and decarbonise its energy systems. In the light of European Union documents, decarbonisation signifies the elimination of CO₂ emissions on account of their harmfulness to the environment. The European Union is planning that by 2030, these emissions will be 40% lower in comparison to 1990. A fundamental query arises here: do the achievements of EU countries give cause for optimism in this regard? The aim of the study is an attempt to determine the tendency of changes concerning energy decarbonisation as well as to distinguish typological groups of bodies (EU countries) with similar dynamics in the researched phenomenon. Trend functions and the distance matrices of the growth rate of the researched phenomenon were used for the dynamic classification. The conducted research confirmed that EU countries indicate spatial differentiation in terms of CO₂ emissions. It is related to the general socio-economic development of countries, their level of industrialisation, the quality of their natural environment, their degree of urbanisation, etc. The most favourable situation, in terms of the analysed phenomenon, i.e., the largest average decrease in CO₂ per capita in the analysed period, was characteristic of Ireland, Greece, and Cyprus. On the other hand, an adverse situation relating to an increase in the indicator occurred in five EU countries, specifically in Luxembourg and Lithuania.

Purpose: The aim of the article is to present and compare the results of actions taken for the education of students of economic faculties about social responsibility of business in Poland and Croatia. Design/Methodology/Approach: The following research methods will be used in the article: descriptive method and selected methods of descriptive statistics (analysis of the structure and interdependencies of variables). Findings: In spite of implementing programs regarding the concept of social responsibility of business at many universities specialising in economics, both in Poland and Croatia, the insufficient knowledge of the assumptions and importance of the idea of social responsibility in business is noticed. Practical Implications: The wider discussion on the idea of social responsibility of business was intensified by the crisis that began in 2008. It caused reflections on discrepancies between socioeconomic practice and the theory of economics to be raised more often in the literature on the subject as well as in practice. As a result of these reflections and discussions, many economists indicate that one of the most beneficial solutions is the collective inclusion of enterprises and institutions in the idea of social responsibility of business. Originality/Value: Comparison of level of knowledge in term of CSR of Polish and Croatian students. Results can be compared with other countries.

W gospodarce rynkowej podstawowym zadaniem instytucji państwowych jest ograniczenie niepewności przez wyznaczanie ram wpływających na podejmowanie działań i decyzji wszystkich podmiotów. Od efektywności instytucji, przyjętego przez nie systemu działania oraz jego spójności, zależy skuteczność realizacji wyznaczonych strategii i planów społeczno-gospodarczych. Nieskuteczne i nieetycznie działające instytucje mogą wywoływać narastanie zjawisk patologicznych i nie pozwolić z jednej strony na swobodny, bez narzucania niepotrzebnych ograniczeń rozwój wszystkich podmiotów w gospodarce, z drugiej natomiast – doprowadzić do sytuacji, w której odsłonią się niekontrolowane objawy zwierzęcej natury, skłaniające do nieracjonalnych, nazbyt ryzykownych czy wręcz szkodliwych zachowań. Wywołuje to potrzebę wypracowania przez państwo mechanizmów, które godziłyby wymogi efektywności ekonomicznej, społecznej i politycznej z jednoczesnym uszanowaniem norm etycznych. Celem opracowania jest wykazanie, że kwestie powiązań pomiędzy etycznie postępującymi reprezentantami instytucji państwowych a etycznym postępowaniem przedstawicieli biznesu są niedostatecznie dostrzegane i doceniane oraz że wprowadzenie systemu etycznego, złożonego z ocen obiektywnych, implikuje w efekcie etyczną samoregulację podmiotów społeczno-gospodarczych i rozwój ekonomiczny państwa.

The article presents the results of research on the transformation process in the Polish country-side between 2010 and 2020, taking into account those rural communes where the State-Owned Farms (PGR) were located. The study aimed to identify the spatial diversity of post-PGR communes on the grounds of socio-economic situation and to assess the rate of change in this situation in the surveyed communes over 11 years, as well as to answer the question how the socio-economic situation was influenced by the location of a given commune relative to province capitals. In the analyses, selected methods of descriptive statistics and multidimensional comparative analysis were applied. The results confirmed that in many post-PGR communes, also these days, we can observe financial problems, and that people experience significant difficulties with entering the labour market. The research also showed that in most cases communes located close to these cities were characterized by a better socio-economic situation than the communes located further away.