Brief
An inclusive Social Climate Fund for the just transition
“Vulnerable citizens and families are more likely to have the least resources to face climate change, both financially, to move away from fossil-fuels, and politically, to have their voices heard in policymaking. The Social Climate Fund is an unprecedented opportunity to fill this financial and political gap.”
The just transition will not be just if it is not inclusive. Currently, one in five Europeans are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. “To leave no one behind” implies taking extra care of the most vulnerable groups in the energy transition. Vulnerable citizens and families are more likely to have the least resources to face climate change, both financially, to move away from fossil-fuels, and politically, to have their voices heard in policymaking. The Social Climate Fund (SCF) proposed by the European Commission in July 2021 is an unprecedented opportunity to fill this financial and political gap. The SCF has the potential to support access to essential energy and mobility services for vulnerable citizens across the European Union (EU). It would serve as a complement to the Just Transition Mechanism that primarily is dedicated to mitigating social and employment impacts in coal dependent regions.
However, the current proposal offers insufficient guarantees for fulfilling expectations on social justice, decarbonisation, and more inclusive governance. Building on our previous brief on the Social Climate Fund that highlighted the need to decouple the SCF from the “ETS2” (the proposed Emissions Trading System on heating and road transportation), this brief outlines the key conditions to ensure that the SCF delivers a just transition. First, we present the main features of the Commission’s SCF proposal, and thereafter we turn to highlight why social acceptability should be the guiding principle of the SCF. This implies: (1) leaving enough room for social compensation targeted at the most vulnerable in the transition, which will be indispensable in some national contexts; (2) financing salient decarbonisation programmes targeted to the most vulnerable; and (3) implementing inclusive consultation, decision-making, and monitoring processes in the governance of the fund.
Recommended citation:
Defard C. & Thalberg K. 2022. “An inclusive Social Climate Fund for the just transition”, Policy brief, Jacques Delors Institute, January 2022.
SUR LE MÊME THÈME
ON THE SAME THEME
PUBLICATIONS
Make the Social Climate Fund a game changer to tackle energy poverty
[FR] France’s energy future
The need for a socially-just European Green Deal
MÉDIAS
MEDIAS
Climat : l’UE veut faire payer le CO2 aux ménages, malgré le risque social
Les zones à faibles émissions, une stratégie pas si écologique
Le b.a.-ba des zones à faibles émissions avec Reporterre
ÉVÉNEMENTS
EVENTS
Conférence Jacques Delors 2023 – La transition écologique [FR]
Euroquestions | The Pact on Migration and Asylum, what about a reform never completed? [FR]
Euroquestions 57 | Reforming the Stability and Growth Pact. Key challenges and opportunities for a revamped European fiscal framework
Académie Notre Europe – Europe in the world session
Euroquestions | What about energy poverty in Europe and its challenges in times of inflation? [FR]
Conference on the Future of Europe – Climate Change, Environment/Health
Table Ronde : “La politique européenne de l’énergie à l’heure du changement climatique”
Annulé : L’urgence climatique, un défi aussi pour les villes d’Europe
Paris, 5 November 2019 – How to finance Energy Innovation in Europe in order to reach Climate neutrality by 2050?
Brussels, 16th October 2019 – Three solutions to finance the Green Deal
Brussels, 15 October 2019 – Europe: Post Elections Challenges
Brussels, 27 June 2019 – Women Rule Summit 2019
Paris, 16 mai 2019 — ParisMat
Paris, 16 April 2019 — European elections: assessment and proposals of the candidates for the climate
Paris, 19 February 2019 – If the climate was a bank, we would have saved it already. What are we waiting for?
Katowice, 13 December 2018 – COP24: Yes Europe !
Paris, 4 December 2018 – Ecological transition and the European Union: what are the levers for the emergency?
Hamburg, 16 November 2018 – FOTAR 2018 : Transatlantic Environmental Policy
Madeira, 19 October 2018 – The EU long-term energy-climate strategy
Paris, 28 September 2018 – Autumn School of the European Trade Union Confederation
Brussels, 28 June 2018 – Globalisation and Europeanisation: European solutions for global problems?
Brussels, 24 April 2018 – Geo-politics and the need for transition to cleaner energy
Barcelona, 16 March 2018 – Global commitments on climate change
