Air Protection in the European Union Member States: From Laggards to Pushers

Member states of the European Union often label themselves as the world’s top Green Leaders. Air Protection in the European Union Member States examines the EU members’ air protection policies by taking into consideration wider political, social, and economic perspectives.

The book is divided into four chapters, each focusing on different aspects of the European Union’s environmental policies and the member states’ air protection efforts: ＂Green and Smart - The Development of the European Union’s Environmental Policies＂, ＂Ever Cleaner Union and the Air Protection Concept＂, ＂Trends of Air Pollution in the European Union - Comparative Perspective＂, and ＂In-Depth Case Studies＂. These chapters provide a comparative approach to emerging emission trends within the European Union, paying particular attention to key events spanning 2020-2023, such as the implementation of the Green Deal, the reinterpretation of the meaning of public health caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the strategic withdrawal from hydrocarbons accelerated by the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Throughout the book, three main categories of states are characterized: leaders, second-raters, and laggards.

Air Protection in the European Union Member States presents a combination of general discussions, legislative analyses, comparative studies, and detailed case studies, demonstrating the origin, development, and trends in air protection policies within the European Union. This uniquely interdisciplinary book will be a vital guide for students, researchers, and teachers in the fields of global studies, international relations, and political and economic science.

Magdalena Tomala is an associate professor in the Department of Management and Computer Modelling, Kielce University of Technology, Poland. She conducts research on governance in public policies and international relations. Her main areas of research are issues of economy, sustainable development, ecology, and international cooperation. She is the author of the monographs Greenland, in the System of International Relations in the Light of Immanuel Wallerstein’s Systems-Worlds Theory (2016) and Sustainable Development of the Baltic Sea Region (2020); she has co-authored The Northern Dimension of the European Union. Political and Legal Study (2009), Politics and Development in the North American Arctic (2021), and Public Policy and the Impact of COVID-19 in Europe (2022).

Katarzyna Dośpial-Borysiak is an associate professor at the University of Lodz (Poland), Faculty of International and Political Studies. She specializes in sustainable development, climate policies, and regionalism. Her main geographical scope for research is the European Union, especially Nordic countries and Poland. She is the author of three books covering various regional perspectives - for example, Civic and Uncivic Values in Poland: Value Transformation, Education, and Culture (2019, co-edited with Sabrina Ramet and Kristen Ringdal) - and over 50 scientific articles, chapters, and reviews.