EU Updates - July
The Council of the European Union Acts to Secure a Fair and Inclusive Green Transition
On 16th June 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted a recommendation to ensure a fair and inclusive green transition.
Member States are invited to adopt policy packages that address the social aspects of the green transition.
The recommendation, which follows the European Commission (EC) proposal of last December, aims to put people's welfare at the centre of the green transition. The importance of protecting the most vulnerable as well as promoting quality jobs is a fundamental part of the European Green Deal to achieve the climate neutrality goal by 2050 in a just way.
With this act the Member States commit to taking actions according to their particular circumstances to promote:
Quality employment;
Access to quality education and training with a focus on green transition necessary skills;
Social protection system and fair tax-benefit;
Access to affordable services such as transport, energy, and housing;
The involvement of social partners such as civil society organizations and local authorities;
Optimal use of private and public funding.
The main findings suggest that by putting in place the right policies, the EU's green transition could generate up to 1 million jobs by 2030, as well as some 2 million jobs in Europe by 2050.
From now on Member States are expected to implement the recommendations according to their national circumstances under the EC surveillance.
If you would like to stay updated on the progress of the Just transition please reach out to Giorgia Miccoli, EU Affairs Project Manager, CSR Europe
Parliament Committees’ Vote Rejects “Institutionalised Greenwashing” on Taxonomy
On 14th June 2022, the Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) committees voted against the European Commission’s proposal on Taxonomy. The MEPs’ rejection sets the basis for a Parliament vote to stop the inclusion of gas and nuclear energy among the so-called “climate-friendly” investments for the European Taxonomy.
The Commission’s proposal on Taxonomy aims to drive investment flows into “green” energies, including gas and nuclear power. According to this assumption, funds for new nuclear power plant construction and new gas-fired power plants will be considered green investments. This could not be the case if the Parliament committees’ vote will be confirmed during the Parliament plenary vote later this month. This symbolic cross-party resolution of both the ECON and ENVI committees shows how the above proposal is controversial in defining green energies.
With this vote, the committees sent a strong message to the European Commission, underlying the necessity to delete these fuels from the list of green energies according to the Taxonomy to meet the EU emissions goals. The debate about the level of sustainability of both gas and nuclear energy is still open, showing the various point of view of the countries where these energies are most used. Someone focuses more on the waste disposal issue of the nuclear system while others focus their attention on the CO2 emission rate of the fuel.
According to some Members of Parliament, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has to be considered another pushing factor to refuse the “energies of the past” to drive investments in the expansion of renewable ones.
Stay updated to monitor the upcoming plenary vote this July. To block the gas and nuclear rule an absolute majority of 353 votes is needed. So that the rejection of the Commission’s proposal would become reality. For more information do not hesitate to contact Giorgia Miccoli, EU Affairs Project Manager, CSR Europe.
EU Trade Agreements as a Driver for a Sustainable and Just Growth
On 22nd June 2022, the European Commission (EC) presented a new approach to its trade agreements putting the attention on their role in supporting the EU’s sustainability agenda.
The Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) review puts trade at the service of EU goals such as decent work, social cohesion, equality, and sustainable development.
These agreements represent an opportunity to build relationships based on commonly shared values such as climate action. It is worldwide imperative to tackle environmental issues and trade policies are one of the means by which the European Union together with its partners can meet these goals.
What’s new?
The focus of the TSD review is on implementation and enforcement. That means that in addition to the dispute settlement mechanism, the EU Commission wants to introduce the possibility of applying trade sanctions on trade partners that materially breached the Paris Climate Agreement or the ILO fundamental principles.
The main elements of the TSD are:
Cooperation and dialogue among agreed and recognized standards;
Necessity to identify sustainability priorities before negotiations begin for the new deals to also facilitate the monitoring of agreements after the ratification;
Highlight sustainability in every section of the trade deals;
Easing the communications among actors;
Empowering civil society;
Establishing more effective enforcement.
The testing ground will be the upcoming negotiation of the free trade agreement with India. Nevertheless, the EU needs to use its trade negotiations to secure respect for the above principles before a trade deal will enter into force to ensure a fairer and greener future.
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