About
This political brief considers with the social dimension of the EU’s future energy project, with a particular focus on social and territorial inequalities, energy poverty, inflation, jobs and skills.
It zooms in on the current policies and regulations, political context, investments and redistribution, and puts forward a number of political ideas and proposals. By shifting away from a consumption-driven approach, towards a planned, collective one, the authors argue, the EU can create real motivation for citizens to play an active part in the transition.
How?
a. Providing public measures and subsidies to fight energy poverty, while reducing overconsumption and maximising efficiency and sufficiency.
b. Creating new strategies and incentives for an inclusive transition on the labour market and schools.
c. Deploying the highest social and environmental conditionalities, at home and abroad.
d. Delivering the needed investments through a balanced combination of new money, new paradigm and new tax system.
This political brief is part of the GEF Knowledge Communities. It is our second briefs exploring the various dimensions of the EU’s energy project, all based on expert input and discussions. The other three deal with energy security, climate and democracy.
Contributors
Benjamin Denis, Core expert of this Knowledge Community and Senior Policy Advisor and Head of Industrial Policy Coordination at IndustriAll Europe.
Joanna Maćkowiak-Pandera, Core expert of this Knowledge Community and Founder and head of Forum Energii
Rosa Martinez, Core expert of this Knowledge Community, Green European Journal Board Member and State Secretary for Social Rights in Spain.
Antoine Oger, Core expert of this Knowledge Community and Research Director, Global Challenges and SDGs at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP).
Jesse Scott, Core expert of this Knowledge Community Adjunct at Hertie School Berlin and Visiting Fellow at DIW Berlin.
Taube Van Melkebeke, Green European Foundation (GEF)’s Policy Manager and Knowledge Communities lead. For further information, contact her at taube.vanmelkebeke@gef.eu.
This political brief has been realised by the Green European Foundation with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.