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Can Europe Lead a Just Transition? - Study launch and roundtable

Date

06 Oct 2022 14:00 to 16:00

Address

Town Hall Europe
Sq. de Meeûs 5
1000  Brussels
Belgium

Section

Energy
Social Europe & Jobs

Event Description

Better integrating the EU's Green Deal and Pillar of Social Rights

This summer, flooding in Pakistan has affected an estimated 33 million people and resulted in more than 1100 deaths and over 1600 injuries. Major wildfires in southwestern France have led to the evacuation of over 40.000 people. An unprecedented drought across Europe has exacerbated the already severe food and energy crises. 

While high temperatures, extreme weather events and other consequences of climate change affect the lives of billions around the world, it is people in vulnerable situations who are hurt first and hardest, as they often lack the access to resources, infrastructures and other forms of support necessary to recover or to, at least, cope with climate-induced harms. At the same time, socio-economic inequalities such as related to wealth and income are among the root causes of the climate crisis, as shown by the staggeringly higher carbon emissions of the richest individuals and countries compared to the rest of the world’s population. 

Climate and envirolmental policies that do not have a strong social dimension run the risk of exacerbating existing socio-economic inequalities. Climate and environmental policies that do not contribute to advancing social justice will fail to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The European Green Deal, the European Union’s strategy to reach climate neutrality by 2050, is meant to be guided by the 20 principles and rights of the European Pillar of Social Rights for a strong social Europe. Nevertheless, social justice considerations are rather lacking in the design and current implementation of the European Green Deal. 

During this conference, Prof. Darren McCauley and Dr. Kerry Andrea Pettigrew from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam will present the study “Can Europe lead a Just Transition?”, which they co-produced with SOLIDAR. The research analyses the performance of EU Member States based on the relationship between indicators extracted from the European Green Deal and the European Pillar of Social Rights. As a result, it highlights some of the gaps, from a social justice perspective, in the European Green Deal’s current design and implementation, and formulates a set of policy recommendations on how best to integrate the European Green Deal with the core principles and actions of the European Pillar of Social Rights. 

The presentation will be followed by a roundtable discussion among decision-makers, civil society representatives and other stakeholders in the Just Transition, with the aim to identify further solutions for a better integration of climate and social policies in the future.

When? 6 October 2022 between 14:00 and 16:00

Where? Town Hall Europe, in Sq. de Meeûs 5, 1000 Brussels 

Please note that this event is in-person only.

Draft agenda: 

13:30  Registration and coffee

14:00  Welcoming words

14:05  Keynote speech by MEP Klára Dobrev (TBC)

14:15  Presentation of study “Can Europe lead a Just Transition?” by Prof. Darren McCauley and Dr. Kerry Andrea Pettigrew 

14:50  Q&A with authors of study

15:00  Roundtable discussion with:

  • Ludovic Voet, Confederal Secretary at European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
  • Frank Siebern-Thomas, Head of Unit F.3 "Fair, Green, and Digital Transitions, Research” at the DG EMPL of the European Commission (TBC)
  • Maria Nikolopoulou, Member of the European Economic and Social Commitee (EESC) and Vice-President of the NAT Section (TBC)
  • Isabelle Brachet, EU Fiscal Reform Policy Coordinator at Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe)
  • Laura de Bonfils, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Social Platform (TBC)
  • Sebastiano Sabato, Researcher at European Social Observatory (OSE)

15:50  Conclusions

Please register using this link by Monday 3 October at the latest. 

For any queries please contact Carlos Roldán at carlos.roldan@solidar.org or Andrea Casamenti at andrea.casamenti@solidar.org

 

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