This week, the European Commission released its assessment of the 24 National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) submitted by Member States to clarify the measures they will adopt to reach the 2030 emission reduction targets. In its in-depth analysis, the European Commission has sent a series of warning messages to Member States.

Firstly, many plans insufficiently assess the potential social impact of their measures.

“Employment impacts are not sufficiently analysed by Member States. A clear mapping of the social impact is crucial to anticipate change, notably in regions and sectors that are more difficult to decarbonise. There is no climate ambition without social ambition. EU and Member States must urgently strengthen the EU Just Transition policy framework, including with additional funding to support workers and communities”, stressed Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe General Secretary.

Secondly, the Commission’s assessment rightly points out that too many of the NECPs remain too vague in terms of how national industrial strategies will contribute to reaching the climate targets. Despite some progress, “specific and actionable objectives” are often missing. In the same way, more efforts are needed to enable NECPs to become genuine investment plans.

“In many ways, industrial policy remains in the hands of Member States, and they have a strategic role to play to ensure that climate targets can be reached through investment, innovation and transformation, but not through de-industrialisation”, according to Judith Kirton-Darling. 

Thirdly, the process for preparing the plans should have been more inclusive. “The active involvement of social partners is not only a matter of democracy and social justice, but also a means to improve the quality of the plans given the specific expertise they have on work and labor related issues. Too many governments ignore trade unions and the many co-benefits of social dialogue. It is a missed opportunity, but Member States must improve the involvement of social partners in the next stages of the NECPs’ implementation and monitoring”, insisted Judith Kirton-Darling. 

If the assessment made by the European Commission has identified important shortcomings of the NECPs, it falls short of providing certainty on how policies in the hands of the Commission will contribute to reaching the climate target in a socially fair way that is not corrosive for Europe’s industrial fabric.

“The European Commission must also quickly assess if the macro-economic governance really enables Member States to mobilise the level of investment that is needed to reach climate targets. Similarly, too many workers in energy-intensive industries don’t see how a market-driven instrument like the EU Emissions Trading System will secure the massive investment needed to roll out carbon-neutral technologies. At this stage, despite important policy initiatives launched by the Commission, such as the Clean Industrial Deal, the reality workers are wrestling with is delayed investment, restructurings and offshoring”, underlined Judith Kirton-Darling.