Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

A Just Transition Fund: one step on a long march

Ludovic Voet 3rd December 2019

Continuing our series on a ‘just transition’, Ludovic Voet stresses that allocating European funding is no substitute for a strategy to achieve it.

Just Transition Fund

Is setting up a ’Just Transition Fund’ going to be the answer to the challenges facing the European Union in its efforts to achieve a carbon-neutral economy? The European Trade Union Confederation and civil-society organisations such as the Climate Action Network have welcomed this initiative by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen’s, but the €4.8 billion budget on the table has been described as a ‘drop in the ocean’.

The term ‘just transition’ is increasingly common but needs definition. It means that social justice must be at the core of steps necessary to combat climate change and workers must not pay the price with their jobs and livelihoods. Trade unions emphasise four requirements: solidarity to support regions and sectors most affected by decarbonisation, strong social protection and the right to (re)training, robust social dialogue and creation of high-quality jobs.

Unions have two major concerns about the commission proposal. The first is a reallocation of resources: any new fund must bring in new money, not simply redistribute existing finances. Secondly, a fund, while necessary, must be just part of an overarching and holistic strategy to address climate change and its impact on workers and society. We should therefore start by setting the strategy and then design the right tools—including the financing—not the other way around.

Mainstreamed

Von der Leyen’s mission letter, in September, called on the commissioner for cohesion and reforms, Elisa Ferreira, to design a Just Transition Fund to ‘offer tailored support for the most affected, for instance those in industrial, coal and energy-intensive regions undergoing significant local transformations. There should be close coordination between the Just Transition Fund, employment and social funds, as well as the InvestEU programme.’

We want to see what this means in detail. As the climate emergency intensifies, trade unions insist that ‘just transition’ should be mainstreamed in all policy strands and across all areas of the EU budget. Certainly, there needs to be strong co-ordination between the future Just Transition Fund, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the European Globalisation Fund (EGF), the InvestEU programme and the European Fund for Regional Development. But the scope of this new fund should be clearly defined, to avoid confusion with existing mechanisms or diluting resources across too many sectors and regions.

We welcome the proposal for a Green New Deal but it must include a comprehensive Just Transition Strategy, to be launched in 2020, with a social and economic impact assessment carried out in close collaboration with the social partners. This strategy must involve all the relevant commission departments and cover areas such as agriculture, transport, energy, waste management and urban planning, based on the principles in the European Pillar of Social Rights. It means defining specific plans for decarbonisation in every industry. What does just transition to a carbon-neutral transport, trade or chemicals sector look like, for example?  

If we are serious about tackling the climate challenge, these decisions cannot wait. All EU macroeconomic policies and trade agreements should be aligned with the objectives of the Green New Deal and the EU must strive to build international consensus with other major economies to avoid carbon leakage—combating climate change is a global fight.

Greater resources

The new fund should add resources to those already available at EU level, not take money from the existing cohesion-policy envelope. Instead, the much greater resources available through cohesion-policy funding should be available and investment should match the needs identified during the socio-economic impact-assessment phase. Coping with other structural developments affecting the EU economy—such as globalisation, digitisation and robotisation—-will meanwhile also require massive financial, legal and policy commitments.

To boost resources, the ETUC wants EU action to impose fair and effective taxation, combating tax avoidance and fraud. The phasing out of environmentally harmful subsidies, for example to fossil-fuel projects, as well as income from the Emissions Trading System, could also contribute. Just-transition investments should be excluded when national deficits are assessed in the Stability and Growth Pact, allowing public authorities to spend on services and infrastructure.

Just-transition principles must be a political priority for the EU, to anticipate change, avoid social disruption and deal with restructuring. The Just Transition Fund is just one step on a long march to making that priority real.

The prime function of the fund should be to address the problems facing workers in regions that are economically dependent on the sectors in the frontline of decarbonisation. This means providing technical assistance and supporting all efforts to transform these economies and diversify their industries. The existing European Platform for Coal Regions in Transition is an example of good practice which can be adapted to other contexts.

Existing jobs must be replaced like-for-like—not with temporary or precarious work—and policies must avoid widening inequalities in society or increasing energy poverty. Education and reskilling are important elements, but of little use if no alternative work is available.

Inclusive approach

Policy-makers have to understand the diversity of the regions affected. Local restructuring must be done ‘on the ground’, not by one-size-fits-all measures imposed from above. Most of all, an inclusive approach must involve workers, trade unions and communities and allow them to take ownership at every step of the process. Without the commitment of well-informed workers, the EU will be wasting its money and the short time we have to secure a sustainable planet. The quality of spending is as important as the size of the budget. Funding must target countries and activities which protect workers and accelerate decarbonisation.

Yet this comes at a time when governments are facing pressure to cut back EU expenditure. The Multiannual Financial Framework will be back on the European Council agenda in mid-December. The arguments go on but, with delegates having gathered for the United Nations COP meeting, yet more evidence has emerged from the UN and the World Meteorological Organization that the fight against climate change cannot wait.

The Green New Deal must set targets to take account of the increasingly sober scientific data on the impact of greenhouse-gas emissions. The challenge facing the EU is not just about money but is rather one of political will. The ETUC will be closely monitoring the proposals coming from the new commission and doing everything in its power to protect workers and their communities.

Ludovic Voet
Ludovic Voet

Ludovic Voet was elected confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation in 2019.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u42198346fb0de2b847 0 How the Billionaire Boom Is Fueling Inequality—and Threatening DemocracyFernanda Balata and Sebastian Mang
u421983441e313714135 0 Why Europe Needs Its Own AI InfrastructureDiane Coyle
u42198346ecb10de1ac 2 Europe Day with New DimensionsLászló Andor and Udo Bullmann
u421983467a362 1feb7ac124db 2 How Europe’s Political Parties Abandoned Openness—and Left Populism to Fill the VoidColin Crouch
u4219834678 41e5 9f3e dc025a33b22c 1 Funding the Future: Why the EU Needs a Bold New BudgetCarla Tavares

Most Popular Articles

startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer
u421983467 2a24 4c75 9482 03c99ea44770 3 Trump’s Trade War Tears North America Apart – Could Canada and Mexico Turn to Europe?Malcolm Fairbrother
u4219834676e2a479 85e9 435a bf3f 59c90bfe6225 3 Why Good Business Leaders Tune Out the Trump Noise and Stay FocusedStefan Stern
u42198346 4ba7 b898 27a9d72779f7 1 Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political LegacyJan-Werner Müller
u4219834676574c9 df78 4d38 939b 929d7aea0c20 2 The End of Progess? The Dire Consequences of Trump’s ReturnJoseph Stiglitz

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

KU Leuven advertisement

The Politics of Unpaid Work

This new book published by Oxford University Press presents the findings of the multiannual ERC research project “Researching Precariousness Across the Paid/Unpaid Work Continuum”,
led by Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), which are very important for the prospects of a more equal Europe.

Unpaid labour is no longer limited to the home or volunteer work. It infiltrates paid jobs, eroding rights and deepening inequality. From freelancers’ extra hours to care workers’ unpaid duties, it sustains precarity and fuels inequity. This book exposes the hidden forces behind unpaid labour and calls for systemic change to confront this pressing issue.

DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641