EU climate policy reforms and political challenges in South Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean: Towards a just transition or regional insecurity?

Amidst the rise of climate change on the global agenda, the transition to a carbon net neutral economy has become the top priority of EU policy-making with a horizon towards 2050. This overarching objective has been implemented in the formulation of the European Green Deal in 2019, as well as the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package and the European Climate Law in 2021. This policy trajectory that combines energy policy objectives with climate change mitigation priorities has incorporated emerging concepts such as energy, climate, and environmental justice in the pursuit of a just transition towards carbon neutrality. At the same time, regional dynamics in the Mediterranean – especially in the East Med – have shifted towards rising tensions as a result of hydrocarbon discoveries in the already volatile region where longstanding disputes have been exacerbated by these new elements of possible contention. This paper will examine the interaction between these two interactive phenomena. It will use the literature on just transitions and the literature on the securitization of energy in order to assess the extent to which the European Green Deal and subsequent policy and legislative measures can contribute to 1) the achievement of climate change objectives in the region through an equitable and just transition, and 2) the easing of regional tensions over the potential exploitation of energy resources within the existing securitized environment.