Ecology, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Modern EU
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Friday, 29.03.2024, 09:49
Transition to a carbon-neutral economy: latest EU’s accounts
The report acknowledged that tackling climate change and
preserving growth could be successfully combined. Hence, the report sets out a
number of policy options in the member states that are able to preserve the states’
competitiveness, sustain growth and spread its benefits to present and future
generations, while pursuing an ambitious transition to a climate-neutral
economy. The ESDE-2019 review finally confirmed the growing member states’ economic
activity, with increased employment and improving cohesion.
European Commissioner for employment, social affairs, skills
and labour mobility underlined that the annual
review showed both growing trends in the EU’s economy and employment: with over
240 million Europeans at work - up by 13.4 mln jobs since 2015- the
employment rate in the EU is the highest ever recorded. Besides, these trends
pave the way to a fair transition to climate-neutral and sustainable economy
patterns in order to make full use of the “green growth” opportunities.
Transition’s impact
The transition to a carbon-neutral economy has both
potentials to increase the number of available jobs and can have a positive impact
on labour market structure, job distributions and needed skills. By 2030, the
transition is expected to create additionally over one million jobs in the member
states on top of the 12 million new jobs soon expected. The transition could
mitigate the ongoing job polarisation resulting from automation and
digitalisation by creating jobs also in the middle-income group, in skills
distributions, e.g. in construction and manufacturing sectors.
However, the impacts of “green transition” vary across
countries and sectors: hence, states must prepare for this transition to make
sure that people in occupations, sectors and regions still linked to
high-carbon models are not left behind.
For example, integrating social dimension with measures that
provide income support during transition or combine higher energy taxation with
redistribution could be of great importance. Social dialogue can also
contribute to a just transition by ensuring the involvement of workers and
employers.
Generally, the 2019 review shows that to continue economic
growth, the member states have to invest in people's skills and innovation as
the best performing companies would be those that invest most in workers'
training and high-quality working conditions, in short –in skills,
qualifications, adult training to support employability of workers, wage
growth, and firms' competitiveness.
The ESDE-2019 review also finds that social investments, such
as access to childcare and early childhood education, make people more
productive and increase their well-being. Affordable and adequate housing
enables Europeans to fulfill their potential on the labour market and
participate more actively in socio-economic development.
ESDE-2019 for a new EU strategic growth
The 2019 annual Employment and Social Developments
in Europe review (ESDE-2019) provides up-to-date economic analysis of
employment and social trends in Europe and discusses related policy options.
The European Council's New
Strategic Agenda 2019-2024 calls for embracing the changes brought
about by the green transition, technological evolution and globalisation while
making sure no-one is left behind.
More in the chapter on “building a climate-neutral, green,
fair and social Europe” in the EU’s new strategic agenda:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39914/a-new-strategic-agenda-2019-2024.pdf
This ESDE-2019 edition takes a look at employment and social
developments in the light of one of the
four main priorities of this new strategic agenda – “building a
climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe”.
Findings provided by ESDE-2019 shall inspire policy-makers in
the member states to deliver on such ambitious objectives by including into the
national political economies the employment issues of the strategic long-term
vision for a climate-neutral economy.
The European Commission has taken several steps in order to
activate the member states’ policies: e.g. the Commission in May 2018 proposed for
the Multiannual Financial Framework more funds for investments into people,
including through the new European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and an improved
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).
On new suggestions in the EU budget in: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-3923_en.htm;
The European Pillar of Social Rights and
initiatives and tools such as the Skills Agenda for Europe, the Digital
Europe Programme and the Youth Guarantee, the further strengthening
of the Erasmus programme, and the European Solidarity Corps will
all contribute to pursuing these goals.
On skills agenda in: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1223.
On youth guarantee
in: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1079.
On Erasmus+ program in: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node_en
More information in the following links:
-Factsheet: Employment and social developments 2019: Zooming in on the social impact of climate change;
-2019 Employment and Social Developments Review;
- A New Strategic Agenda 2019-2024;
- Employment
and Social Analysis section on the EMPL website.
General reference:
Commission press release: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-3412_en.htm