ANALYSIS OF THE ESSENCE AND CONTENT OF CONVERGENCE PROCESSES TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE ECOLOGICAL COMPONENT

Abstract

The European Union is based on economic, social and territorial unity, as well as on balanced economic growth and convergence. As the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions points out: "convergence trends between member states have been achieved in recent decades in both economic and social dimensions". After adoption of the "Europe 2020" strategy by the European Council in 2010, as well as of the European Green Deal, great attention have been paid to environmental problems in the development of the member countries. These strategies emphasize the need for joint actions by member states in the direction of sustainable development. Today, the governments of countries, politicians, scientists, public organizations and other interested parties are searching for effective ways of economic growth, taking into account the listed planetary and ecological limits, as well as its ecological consequences, which actualizes the teaching of ecological and economic growth. The purpose of the article is to define the conceptual foundations of ecological and economic convergence. The article examines a set of countries (regions) that are members of the so-called "convergence club". The indicator of CO2 emissions in these countries is highlighted, which reflects only a part of the cumulative consequences that are the result of extensive energy consumption. Ecological and economic convergence is analyzed, namely the analysis of foreign sources. The author proposed the ways to solve the issues of absolute and relative unevenness of development, as well as their comparison. It was confirmed that if a country (region) with a lower level of socio-economic development tries to get closer to the corresponding level of a leading country (region), then the standard of living in the first one will increase, and the gap between countries (regions) will also decrease. And corresponding growth in real income per capita will take place in the "lagging" countries.