For the preparation of the proposal for a Council Recommendation on a fair transition towards climate neutrality, the European Commission launched a consultation process with civil society organisations active in the areas of social rights and labour policies, in the last trimester of 2021.
In the first section of this position paper, EAPN sets out its inputs in response to the European Commission’s consultation with regard to the following reflection areas:
- The Commission’s description of the state of play and challenges
- The purpose and scope of the initiative
- The elements to consider in order to effectively guide Member States towards adequate accompanying policies for a just and inclusive green transitions
- The roles of civil society and social organisations in the context of the forthcoming Council Recommendation
The second section of this document aims to assess the actual proposal published in December 2021 by emphasising the positive elements and the remaining grey areas or negative elements.
Overall, the description of the state of play by the European Commission offers a consistent presentation of the main EU policy initiatives in response to the identified challenges linked to a socially just transition.
However, EAPN remains with concerns, which should be reflected in the final text of the Council Recommendation, in the interest of people living in or at risk of poverty and energy poverty.
The scope of this initiative is quite broad and could merit more detail on certain aspects:
1) The multi-dimensional causes and consequences of energy poverty
2) The impact of digitalisation on access to education, training, Minimum Income Schemes and Social Protection;
3) The need for public investments in green jobs, social protection and minimum income, sustainable energy, housing, transport and food;
4) Complementarity and coherence across funding and policy instruments should entail a ‘social ring-fencing’ in all policies
Find out more about the positive and negative elements of the final proposal for a Council Recommendation in the position paper.
For more information, please contact sabrina.iannazzone@eapn.eu.