"We must focus on the social consequences of the green transition and the solutions it offers. The transition to climate neutrality is a common goal for all EU countries. This transition requires structural changes that will affect the lives of all European citizens and that need to be addressed to ensure that no village, city or region are left behind." Borboly Csaba, President of Harghita County Council made these remarks during a hybrid ENVE Commission meeting of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).
Borboly who is serving rapporteur for the CoR legislative opinion on 'Towards a socially fair implementation of the Green Deal' said "I believe that, in addition to climate goals, the protection of economic operators, our markets and our communities is also of paramount importance, so we need to address these issues in a meaningful way."
In this regard, Borboly's opinion will stress that that local and regional authorities (LRAs) are very relevant actors in the field of energy and climate, and that they know best the characteristics of the territories and the social and economic context in which these policies are implemented, as well as the most appropriate approach to take for enhancing their effectiveness. Furthermore, LRAs are uniquely placed to take action for fostering decarbonisation, given that most of the measures related to climate-targets have a specific territorial dimension and as energy service providers and significant purchasers of energy services.
While welcoming the Social Climate Fund as a statement of solidarity and commitment to achieving a just and socially fair transition, Borboly expressed regret that no concrete and specific impact assessment was carried out before putting forward the proposal for the Social Climate Fund whilst pointing out that the success of the instrument requires tailor-made interventions that meet the specific needs of EU territories.
Borboly called for due attention to be given to vulnerable groups which experience high levels of energy poverty. In this regard he called on the EU to take this opportunity to strengthen action to address energy poverty by taking the lead in consolidating legislation and stepping up action to tackle it, taking into account the differences and particularities of each region or territory, through a robust cross-cutting response across social, consumer, taxation, energy and climate policies, and by striving for a better understanding of its drivers.
Concluding, the rapporteur called on the European Commission to make a revision of the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action Regulation which already includes the development of National Energy and Climate Plans, in which Social Climate Plans will have to be added. These plans should be drafted by Member States with strong collaboration and engagement of local and regional authorities, in which the Multilevel Climate and Energy dialogues should become an important tool to deliver effective and socially inclusive implementation of the climate and energy transition, he added.
The opinion is planned to be adopted in the ENVE Commission in March 2022 and later voted in plenary in April 2022.