The European Green Deal and Sustainability: A Model for Better Governance Solutions for Latvia

The research aims to identify improvements and better solutions for the Latvian governance model for implementing the goals of the European Green Deal, considering the economic, environmental and social perspectives of sustainability and the diverse development of territorial regions. The research applied the Analytic Hierarchy Process as a multi-criteria decision-making method, using qualitative evaluation criteria for governance challenges. An expert assessment was conducted with representatives from five stakeholders, who rated three alternative European Green Deal governance scenarios developed based on territorial governance practices in comparable Member States. The findings showed that Latvia’s current centralized governance model requires differentiation of functions and responsibilities across governance levels. A centralized approach is most suitable for achieving economic sustainability objectives, while environmental and social sustainability goals are more effectively implemented through governance delegated to regional associations. Certain sustainability objectives would benefit from broader powers at the municipal level, thus implementing a place-based territorial governance approach. The research has implications for designing more adaptive, multi-level governance arrangements for the European Green Deal. Practically, the results provide guidance for policymakers and stakeholders involved in planning and implementing climate neutrality and sustainable development. The originality of the paper stems from integrating the Analytic Hierarchy Process with comparative territorial governance scenarios—an approach that is scarcely applied in existing sustainability and regional governance research. This combination enables the development of a tailored governance model for implementing the European Green Deal, incorporating economic, environmental, and social sustainability dimensions and accounting for the heterogeneous development trajectories of the country's regions.