Why the EU’s patchy ‘just transition’ framework is not up to meeting its climate ambitions

Policy recommendations • The social dimension of the European Green Deal remains underdeveloped. The social and employment-related challenges of the green transition span many dimensions, such as job losses and employment transitions, reskilling and upskilling of the workforce, distributional effects of decarbonisation policies, the protection of social rights and citizen participation. Climate mitigation measures are likely, without other action, to exacerbate social inequalities.• Initiatives to address those challenges remain fragmented. The Just Transition Mechanism and proposed Social Climate Fund, which have limited scope and purpose, and the proposed non-binding Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality do not offer the comprehensive policy platform that the EU needs to deal with the impacts of the transition on affected workers, regions and vulnerable individuals.• A robust EU just transition framework should, among other things, provide for legislation on the anticipation and management of change, with meaningful workers' participation and citizens' involvement, as well as an expanded Just Transition Fund to support workers in transitions to new jobs with measures targeted to specific sectors.• It should promote social dialogue and stakeholder involvement at all levels, and ensure that new green jobs are good jobs in line with the ILO Decent Work agenda and the European Pillar of Social Rights. A proper Social Climate Fund should deal with a broader range of the distributional effects of climate policies with targeted measures against energy and transport poverty, supporting and facilitating the affordability and accessibility of low carbon technologies to lower income households