Analysis of Similarities Between the European Union Countries in Terms of Sustainable Energy and Climate Development

Energy and climate issues are an essential part of the sustainable development process of the EU countries. They are also one of the primary objectives of international policy, as evidenced by their inclusion in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN in 2015 among the Sustainable Development Goals. The implementation of these goals is also taking place in the EU countries. Although climate protection and energy transition activities have been undertaken in the EU for years, individual countries significantly vary in this regard. The aim of the research, the results of which are presented in this paper, was to analyze similarities between the EU countries in terms of sustainable energy and climate development. The analysis was conducted for all EU countries, based on 14 indicators characterizing energy and climate sustainability, in energy, climate, social and economic dimensions. Kohonen’s artificial neural networks were used for analysis. The research was conducted for data from the period between 2009-2018. The results showed that in the studied period (10 years), significant differences were found between the EU countries. A high level of energy and climate development was reported for Sweden, Denmark, Austria and France, among other states, and a low level for e.g., the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria.