Across the world, we are experiencing waves of extreme heat, prolonged droughts, damage caused by severe weather, landslides, floods, and the rapid melting of glaciers. The resulting harm to health, ecosystems, the economy, and infrastructure is enormous. To prevent a predictable and dramatic escalation of global warming, we must transition to renewable energy sources. In the EU, about three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions come from energy used in industry, transportation, and households. Forecasts identify tipping points in this process, marked by values and events indicating irreversible ecosystem damage. While we still have a chance to avert such developments, time is pressing. A central component of the EU's Green Deal is the energy transition aiming for climate neutrality by 2050, with intermediate targets for 2030 and 2040. Various aspects related to the implementation of this strategy were discussed by renowned experts at a conference about “Energy policy: The trilemma of climate targets, market efficiency and social compatibility” held on 16 and 17 May in Bressanone/Brixen, organized jointly by AFB and the European Centre for Workers' Questions (EZA).
Funded by the European Union, the conference was attended by over 70 participants from South Tyrol/Italy, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Serbia.
We recognize the need to change how we manage our planet. Abundant scientific evidence calls for laying new foundations, yet the lengthy political procedures necessary for coordinating various planning and funding approaches at both European and national levels threaten the implementation of concrete Energy policy: The trilemma of climate targets, market efficiency and social compatibility measures enabling us to move from awareness to action. Corporations and financial markets, which have made substantial profits from oil, gas, and coal for decades, are resisting the transformation process required by climate change. They particularly oppose the EU action plan’s timetable, while the energy crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine and related supply chain bottlenecks are being used as an excuse for otherwise unjustified price increases.
The EU's goal is clear and inevitable: with the "Fit for 55" programme, the EU has set climate policy targets for 2040 for industry, buildings and mobility. We must accelerate the decarbonization of energy sources and increase the share of renewables such as solar, geothermal, and wind energy, and, in specific cases, consider hydrogen technologies in the industrial field. This will entail high investment costs and the need to reorient and reorganize companies in the energy sector. Funding tools must be adapted to the specific situation of individual member states and supplemented on a national scale.
However, in the campaign for the 2024 European elections, the ruling parties of the main European countries have distanced themselves from the EU's planning lines, resulting in a significant setback for the energy transition. Fearing that the EU Green Deal might be shelved if conservative and populist parties gain a majority in the European Parliament, countermeasures have been launched, and massive funding efforts have been put in place. The EU is using the Social Climate Fund to provide significant funds to individual member states to support the entire energy transition process. However, it is clear that in the coming years both the EU and individual member states will have to provide additional financial resources on an ongoing basis to make this transformation succeed.
In the current super-election year, neither at the EU nor national level have political leaders emerged who can steer the political course and negotiation process with companies in a targeted manner, offering an attractive vision of prosperity to support reorientation efforts. Tactics dominate the public debate. Citizens experience the impacts of climate change on their environment, infrastructure, production systems, and health. While they understand the warnings from climate scientists, they have little faith in political leaders and find it difficult to sift through the overwhelming amount of information and misinformation. Consequently, concerns about losing jobs during this significant transition are as pressing as the fear of not having heating in winter due to soaring energy prices.
On this issue, trade unions are not fully playing their role as mediators. Yet they should be the natural protagonists in the transition towards climate neutrality, demanding a programme of socially and environmentally sustainable measures to ensure socially fair growth (Just Transition). With their experience in concerting policy decisions, they can, with the support of environmental associations, urge governments to implement environmental policy objectives in a clever and balanced manner, in dialogue with business associations and major economic players. Subsidies, incentives for innovation, cushioning measures for risk mitigation, and damage compensation schemes must be structured to clearly highlight the opportunities and economic advantages linked to the energy transition. There are already examples of agreements facilitated by trade unions that saw energy corporations restructuring and converting traditional power plants in a socially sustainable manner.
In this context, the public sector must commit to secure the future in the interest of the general public, which means pursuing decarbonisation while securing employment and income. Experts confirm that energy costs will not spiral out of control if there is a consistent switch to renewable energy sources. Mature technologies are already available and continuously improving, as shown by advancements in energy storage systems. Managing the transition phase towards future climate neutrality can slow down the price spiral in the energy sector caused by monopoly situations and balance price components so that renewable energy sources become affordable also for working-class households and socially disadvantaged people.