Consultation response on the social and labour aspects of the just transition towards climate neutrality
EuroHealthNet highlights the prerequisites of a just and socially fair transition in its response to the background note of the European ‘Council Recommendation on addressing the social and labour aspects of the just transition towards climate neutrality’
The Council Recommendation on addressing the social and labour aspects of the just transition towards climate neutrality aims to guide Member States further on how to ensure that such a transition is just and inclusive, addressing its risks and maximising the potential of the green transition in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights.
In response to the measures outlined in the Council Recommendation, EuroHealthNet suggested that the following are given special consideration:
- Fair tax-benefit and social protection systems should also include subsidies for green and sustainable products, making them affordable for all.
- The policy package should also advocate affordable access along a social gradient and through proportionate universalism, to capture the larger population group which lives in sub-optimal conditions but is not considered vulnerable.
- “Behavioural and cultural insights units” should be recommended at Member State level, to collect data on the key barriers and enablers to behavioural change in different communities and feed such information into the decision-making processes.
- Foresight analyses of the impact of climate change and economic assessments of the social and health co-benefits of climate action should be carried out, to support the long-term and intergenerational understanding of the issue
- Information and digital solutions must be easy to access, understand and apply, at varying literacy levels.
EuroHealthNet further stressed the importance of co-creating a climate-neutral era with citizens, to ascertain that those efforts are just and socially fair.
