External Just Transition An Assessment of the External Socio-Economic Effects of the EU Climate Policy in the Case of Moldova

Abstract

This thesis explores the concept of external Just Transition through the case of the EU’s impact on Moldova, focusing on wealth distribution as the central indicator for socio-economic development. The first part determines which external socio-economic aspects the EU targets in their implicit external Just Transition policy. It finds the central aspects to be the increase in the level of employment, the reduction of poverty, the strengthening of social cohesion, and the strengthening of Rule of Law. The first three aspects can be operationalized by wealth distribution. The second part provides a theoretic framework on the effect of climate policy on wealth distribution. It establishes a differentiation into a consumption channel, an income channel, and a revenue channel. The third part elaborates on the respective situation in Moldova. The fourth part delineates the EU’s implicit Just Transition regime with Moldova. It establishes an exhaustive list of policies and instruments. The final part analyzes the impact of those policies in light of the insights of the previous parts. It finds an overall slightly progressive effect of the policies in Moldova, but parts of the effect are strongly influenced by the exceptional current circumstances.