How to achieve a just energy transition in Europe?

ITAS researchers have contributed to the “White Paper: A Just Energy Transition in the EU” published by the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA). It addresses pressing issues of justice in the transition to carbon-neutral energy systems.
Cover der Publikation
Source: EERA

The transition to a sustainable energy system is a complex socio-technical change process. Technical as well as social and economic developments interact in this process, driving it forward but also slowing it down. Ensuring that “no one is left behind” in this process is one of the central elements of the EU’s Green Deal.

At the core of this is the recognition that the impacts of climate change and climate mitigation and adaptation measures are unevenly distributed – there are always winners and losers in a transition. A “just energy transition” is increasingly seen as a crucial success factor for the energy transition. It aims for an equitable distribution of benefits and burdens, ensuring that vulnerable groups are not disproportionately disadvantaged and are recognized in the decision-making process.

The authors of the White Paper have carried out an in-depth analysis of European challenges and just energy transition policies. Based on this, they argue for a comprehensive consideration of distributive, procedural, and recognition justice in the EU’s regulatory and legal framework at all stages of energy transition initiatives.

This requires, among other things, reliable metrics for monitoring justice in the energy transition and strengthening community ownership of energy infrastructure. The authors recommend to improve stakeholder engagement with a focus on participation by and for vulnerable groups and to take an intersectional approach to address energy poverty.

EERA is a membership-based, non-profit association, constituting the largest low-carbon energy research community in Europe and key player in the European Union’s Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan. The White Paper was initiated by the EERA Joint Programme Clean Energy Transition for Sustainable Society (e3s). (26.06.2024)

Bibliographic data:

Ganna Gladkykh, Giuseppe Pellegrini-Masini, Rita Tatiana Oliveira Boumann, Allesandro Sciullo, Witold-Roger Poganietz, Guillermo Borragán Petraz, Marco Ortiz Sanchez, Christine Milchram et al.
White Paper: A Just Energy Transition in the EU. EERA. Accessed 21 March 2024.