Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • Global cities
    • Strategic autonomy
    • War in Ukraine
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Renovating Europe: a path to green recovery

Divia Hobson 14th September 2020

A green recovery from the pandemic would heal its social scars by quickly creating jobs and fostering inclusion.

green recovery
Divia Hobson

Europe is in a pivotal position to lead a green recovery from the economic blows of the coronavirus crisis. Unlike in many individual countries, the flagship policies paving the way for climate-neutrality, such as the European Green New Deal, are already in place to shape the path forward.  

The necessary shift to a climate-neutral continent, with net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions, must be a ‘just transition’. This emergent concept is now more at the core than before the crisis, as the pandemic has only aggravated social and economic disparities. 

An obvious example is the employment divide. Many people have been able to continue working from home during periods of enforced social distancing—but typically in higher-paying and more reliable work than those employed by restaurants, driving taxis or in the retail sector. And those who cannot work remotely, while also facing more risk of exposure to the virus, have more often been confronted too with loss of employment, temporary or permanent.

Stark choice

As unemployment rates climb and the depth of the economic shock becomes plain, the choice as to what recovery will look like becomes equally stark. A dirty global recovery, fuelled by immediate economic concerns and ramping up a return to the pre-pandemic emissions trajectory, would quickly drive us away from any climate goals. From the other side, a green recovery, including climate mitigation, needs to get off the ground immediately—but with green investment will come jobs. 


Become part of our Community of Thought Leaders


Get fresh perspectives delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter to receive thought-provoking opinion articles and expert analysis on the most pressing political, economic and social issues of our time. Join our community of engaged readers and be a part of the conversation.

Sign up here

Countries such as Italy and Spain, with already high unemployment rates, are seeing unemployment further rise sharply. Looking back at the last economic shock, caused by the 2008 financial crisis, recovery in Spain was accelerated by enhancing the technology sector. And there remains room for growth in this sector, through addition of value and investment in innovation. 

But the current economic climate, in a globalised context, was made manifest with the announcement in May by Nissan of the closure of its manufacturing plants near Barcelona, at the direct expense of almost 3,000 jobs—albeit with union resistance leading to a stay until the end of next year. 

The move has been attributed to intensified competition with China over the manufacture of electric vehicles (EV) and a shift away from the European market, yet European countries such as Germany are positioning themselves to combat such developments. With parts of its recovery package dedicated to stimulating EV infrastructure growth and battery production, instead of funding the traditional automotive industry, Germany is setting the tone for green recovery and investment. 

Building renovation

Long overdue for green investment is building renovation in Italy and Spain. But with pre-pandemic financial burdens being exacerbated, the already low rate of refurbishment is likely to fall further. This jeopardises not only first steps to decarbonise the stock but more importantly the wellbeing of those who cannot afford adequately to heat or cool their dwellings as they stay home or shelter in place. 

With uncertainty around continued waves and outbreaks of Covid-19, however, a ‘new normal’ of distance learning, remote working and being at home is here to stay. In an effort to address these realities, Spain established a minimum living income, beginning in June, to help individuals and families cope.

As we similarly anticipate this adjustment and prepare for coming seasons, addressing energy poverty will be critical for short- and long-term gain. In the near term, catalysing building refurbishment for all will help reduce heating bills over winter months as well as strengthen an economic recovery with local, non-transferable jobs. About 19 new direct jobs in the construction sector are created from every €1 million investment in improving the energy efficiency of EU building stock. 

Looking to the longer term, boosting employment in construction, Europe’s large industrial employer, not only makes sense in terms of economic recovery but allows renovation and refurbishment to facilitate a green recovery, increasing the EU’s energy security and moving the needle on climate objectives.

Eco-bonus

A prime case is Italy’s eco-bonus incentive, a stimulus measure put forward by its tax authority. The scheme offers a 110 per cent tax write-off of the cost of an energy-efficiency upgrade to a home or building. For a building industry which had ground to a halt, along with other non-essential business, the incentive aims to stimulate the economy as goods are purchased from suppliers, tradespeople return to site and revenues are generated which are then taxable. 


Support Progressive Ideas: Become a Social Europe Member!


Support independent publishing and progressive ideas by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month. You can help us create more high-quality articles, podcasts and videos that challenge conventional thinking and foster a more informed and democratic society. Join us in our mission - your support makes all the difference!

Become a Social Europe Member

Services are expected to move from under-the-table in Italy’s large shadow economy to legitimate—again generating taxable income. The scheme is tailored to attract investment in the private and public building sectors, upgrade the country’s depreciating buildings and recharge investor optimism following a period of record low sentiment. It highlights the role of inclusive local governance, as it opens doors for public authorities to upgrade their social housing and pursue otherwise complicated projects. 

In Spain, the municipality of Barcelona is working together with the European Investment Bank to finance 40 energy-efficiency and social-infrastructure projects, to support climate-change mitigation and adaption while promoting economic recovery. The €95 million aimed at urban regeneration will create 1,500 jobs during construction. Half of the proposed projects will serve areas the city has labelled vulnerable, with all new social infrastructure meeting the nearly-zero-energy criterion.

As everyone races to recover from the standstill, the implications for our collective approach to climate-change mitigation and resilience-building are high. To make a green recovery happen will require inclusive action which provides jobs swiftly and improves the quality of lives—through building renovation and beyond.

Divia Hobson

Divia Hobson is a strategic analyst at Joule Assets Europe, responsible for policy and market development. She holds a master’s in the global energy transition and governance from the Centre international de formation européenne. Previously, she was a consultant on renewable energy and battery-storage systems.

You are here: Home / Economy / Renovating Europe: a path to green recovery

Most Popular Posts

Belarus,Lithuania A tale of two countries: Belarus and LithuaniaThorvaldur Gylfason and Eduard Hochreiter
dissent,social critique,identity,politics,gender Delegitimising social critique and dissent on the leftEszter Kováts
retirement,Finland,ageing,pension,reform Late retirement: possible for many, not for allKati Kuitto
Credit Suisse,CS,UBS,regulation The failure of Credit Suisse—not just a one-offPeter Bofinger
Europe,transition,climate For a just and democratic climate transitionJulia Cagé, Lucas Chancel, Anne-Laure Delatte and 8 more

Most Recent Posts

Barcelona,feminist,feminism Barcelona: a feminist municipalism now at riskLaura Pérez Castaño
Spain,elections,Sánchez Is Spain on the right track?Bettina Luise Rürup
CBI,Confederation of British Industry,harassment Crisis at Britain’s CBI holds lessons for othersMarianna Fotaki
central and eastern Europe,CEE,renewable Central and eastern Europe: a renewable-energy win-winPaweł Czyżak
Cape Town,inequality Tackling inequality in the city—Cape TownWarren Smit

Other Social Europe Publications

Bildschirmfoto 2023 05 08 um 21.36.25 scaled 1 RE No. 13: Failed Market Approaches to Long-Term Care
front cover Towards a social-democratic century?
Cover e1655225066994 National recovery and resilience plans
Untitled design The transatlantic relationship
Women Corona e1631700896969 500 Women and the coronavirus crisis

ETUI advertisement

The four transitions and the missing one

Europe is at a crossroads, painfully navigating four transitions (green, digital, economic and geopolitical) at once but missing the transformative and ambitious social transition it needs. In other words, if the EU is to withstand the storm, we do not have the luxury of abstaining from reflecting on its social foundations, of which intermittent democratic discontent is only one expression. It is against this background that the ETUI/ETUC publishes its annual flagship publication Benchmarking Working Europe 2023, with the support of more than 70 graphs and a special contribution from two guest editors, Professors Kalypso Nikolaidïs and Albena Azmanova.


DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe

Unaffordable housing is a matter of great concern in the European Union. It leads to homelessness, housing insecurity, financial strain and inadequate housing. It also prevents young people from leaving their family home. These problems affect people’s health and wellbeing, embody unequal living conditions and opportunities, and result in healthcare costs, reduced productivity and environmental damage.

This new report maps housing problems in the EU and the policies that address them, drawing on Eurofound’s Living, working and Covid-19 e-survey, EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.


DOWNLOAD HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

The spring issue of the Progressive Post magazine from FEPS is out!

The Special Coverage of this new edition is dedicated to Feminist Foreign Policy, to try to gauge its potential but also the risk that it could be perceived as another attempt by the west to impose its vision on the global south.

In this issue, we also look at the human cost of the war in Ukraine, analyse the increasing connection between the centre right and the far right, and explore the difficulties, particularly for women, of finding a good work-life balance and living good working lives.


DOWNLOAD HERE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

The macroeconomic effects of re-applying the EU fiscal rules

Against the background of the European Commission's reform plans for the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), this policy brief uses the macroeconometric multi-country model NiGEM to simulate the macroeconomic implications of the most relevant reform options from 2024 onwards. Next to a return to the existing and unreformed rules, the most prominent options include an expenditure rule linked to a debt anchor.

Our results for the euro area and its four biggest economies—France, Italy, Germany and Spain—indicate that returning to the rules of the SGP would lead to severe cuts in public spending, particularly if the SGP rules were interpreted as in the past. A more flexible interpretation would only somewhat ease the fiscal-adjustment burden. An expenditure rule along the lines of the European Fiscal Board would, however, not necessarily alleviate that burden in and of itself.

Our simulations show great care must be taken to specify the expenditure rule, such that fiscal consolidation is achieved in a growth-friendly way. Raising the debt ceiling to 90 per cent of gross domestic product and applying less demanding fiscal adjustments, as proposed by the IMK, would go a long way.


DOWNLOAD HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us

RSS Feed

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube