Europe urgently needs to go greener, but its people can’t be left behind. Yesterday, the European Parliament took an important step towards protecting social rights, with a strong majority of MEPs (67%) voted to adopt legislation that will help pave the way for a just transition.
The legislative initiative, Just Transition Directive in the world of work: ensuring the creation of jobs and revitalising local economies calls on the European Commission to propose a new directive to protect workers in the green and digital transitions. The initiative makes the case for a directive that addresses the challenges and opportunities of just transition in the workplace.
Rapporteur, Jana Toom MEP, emphasised the need for action in her plenary address:
“We need a binding framework with a mix of measures aimed at turning into reality our promise for a socially just transition for the regions, sectors and workers that are being affected and that will be affected by the world moving away from fossil fuels.”
Social Platform agrees that strong protections are needed to ensure that the shift to a sustainable economy does not come at the expense of workers’ rights, job security, or livelihoods. We also welcome the argument in the report for allocating more EU funding for the just transition under the next EU budget (MFF). As Social Platform points out in our position, the European Commission’s stop priorities of sustainable competitiveness and security, will only be possible if investment is made to deliver environmental and social goals.
While a Just Transition directive is one of the key demands featured in Social Platform’s latest position, we also believe that policymakers cannot stop here. We call for establishing an EU Just Transition Policy Framework that truly supports a more socially just, green transition.
The impacts of climate change are already disproportionately being felt by those in vulnerable situations, meaning inequality and social exclusion will only get worse without direct intervention. We call on the European Commission to work towards a legally binding, well-funded, and coherent EU Just Transition Policy Framework that is inclusive of all society.
Social Platform argues that a comprehensive Just Transition Policy Framework would offer a critical opportunity to change course.
