Conclusions and recommendations

Preamble

As with peace and war, climate change and the energy transition will directly affect our common future. They will shape our values, humanity and survival.  They will determine our decisions on socio-economic policy, geopolitics and participatory democracy. The reality is that Climate change is already upon us and there is nowhere left to hide. Regular severe floods, fires, droughts and hurricanes. This is what the world looks like at 1.1 to 1.3° Celsius warmer than when the steam engine was invented. Today, with extinction rates of animal and plant species 100 times faster than the natural rate, it is simply impossible to ignore the impact of climate change on our daily lives, nor can we ignore the necessity for an energy transition. All of bio-diversity is interlocked and humankind is totally reliant on this biodiversity. Ultimately, humans have irreversibly shaped out planet and the decisions we make over the next few years will irreversibly shape its future. What happens next, will depend on all of us. We must begin by urgently delivering on our common promises.

Changing mind-sets in the 21st Century

  • Successfully managing climate change and the energy transition will require a societal mental shift: investing today and reaping the benefits in the next generation;
  • It will necessitate a change in values, attitudes and aspirations, whereby citizens review their concept of a 'good life', nature is recognised as having a true value and humankind has an honest and long-term responsibility towards it;
  • Responsible marketing and advertising will have a key role in persuading consumers to reduce consumption levels, change their way of life and re-evaluate their actual needs;
  • But above all, there must be regular and constructive dialogue between citizens and policy-makers. Citizens will only be mobilised through honest debate on the benefits, trade-offs and transitional costs that societies will undergo, as a result of climate change and the energy transition;
  • This discussion should take place at all levels and across the widest possible social spectrum, including with vulnerable and marginalised citizens. If we do not invest in this dialogue, there will be a towering public backlash and opposition to the transition measures. Without citizens on board, it simply will not be possible to take the necessary actions to mitigate climate change, nor to prepare for the energy transition;
  • Within this context, the European Climate Pact platform, which aims to connect citizens, raise awareness and collectively develop and implement climate solutions, is an example of best practice, which could be reproduced at the national level;
  • Ultimately, climate mitigation and the energy transition should be firmly anchored within European values and identity, thus becoming a positive narrative at the European, national and local levels.

Working together in partnership

  • Organised civil society organisations want to be and must also be allowed to be at the heart of the climate and energy transitions. Every socio-economic sector of civil society must be empowered to lead, design and implement this process, thus co-building the society of tomorrow;
  • Youth organisations in particular, should be at the centre of reflections on possible solutions, on educating and  raising awareness among other sectors of the population on the challenges ahead, as well as on how to move from individual responses to systemic societal approaches;
  • The private sector also has a key role to play in promoting the necessary entrepreneurship and investment. There should be significant increases in public-private partnerships for R & D and greater provision of technical assistance to SMEs, in order to meet environmental standards such as energy audits;
  • However, without doubt it is civil society, in all of its diversity, which has the ambition and creativity to imagine a sustainable, resilient and fairer world. It is civil society which will have a pivotal role in driving and in maintaining the momentum on climate mitigation and adaptation among communities and citizens;
  • It is these same actors who will have the tenacity to invest in, accelerate and embrace change with bottom-up initiatives which respect the opinions and the rights of local people, whilst also promoting new economic models, such as the social economy, which have proven very useful in addressing previous socio-economic challenges;
  • The EESC, representing European civil society organisations and notably the Diversity Europe Group, must also fully play their role in mitigating the climate and energy transitions, acting as intermediaries between European policy-makers and citizens;
  • In this context, the EESC can help to establish viable and constructive alliances between civil society organisations, to the benefit citizens and policy-makers. For example, the Biodiversity Strategy and the CAPs' sustainable land use (greening) both share the common objectives of the European Green Deal and success in each sector is dependent on mutual delivery.

Transforming rhetoric into action

  • Cutting emissions, even at faster rates, will not be enough. We must also heavily invest in preparing emergency plans and in adapting to the changing climate and the energy transition;
  • The European Green Deal and the 'Fit for 55' package are both necessary and urgent. However, they must be accompanied by commitments, action and measurable results at the national, regional and local levels;
  • There is a necessity for better planning and coordination of overarching EU strategies, national, regional and local policies. Policy-makers should avoid silos and promote holistic, systemic and multi-disciplinary approaches to tackling climate change and the energy transition;
  • In this context, the success of the city of Paris in implementing its ambitious Climate Action Plan is an inspiration to other urban centres and clearly illustrates that cities should be at the forefront of tackling climate change;
  • Similarly, the positive example of the Paris Resilience Strategy, co-financed by EU Regional Funds, should be reproduced elsewhere. This strategy has enabled citizens to directly co-create the future of their city and has a proven record of increasing social cohesion;
  • The direct participation of citizens in the transition to a low-carbon economy will be integral to investing in renewables and in ensuring innovative, decentralised and democratic models of development, which will create jobs and modernise the European economy;
  • Currently, energy accounts for 2/3 of greenhouse gas emissions and hence, it is imperative to invest in renewable, affordable and home-grown energy supplies;
  • This strategy is crucial, in order to render Europe more geo-politically independent, with stable and diversified power supplies. To this end, the EU and its Member States must take steps to rapidly increase production capacities for local renewable energy sources;
  • Particular attention should be paid to the role of prosumers in the transition to a low-carbon economy, as this blending of consumers and producers in renewable energy epitomises the ownership of sustainable development by citizens. To facilitate progress, European and national authorities must establish conducive administrative, legislative, financial and fiscal environments;
  • The EU has the funds to realise these objectives, but must remove all subsidies to fossil fuels, massively invest in R & D and strongly encourage business to take up its role seriously and generously;
  • At the global level, the EU should continue to take the leadership on climate change and the energy transition. Such leadership is crucial for its own energy supplies and for geopolitical stability.

Protecting the most vulnerable

  • Access to energy and clean energy, is a right. Hence, it is imperative that the climate and energy transitions are also just, fair and inclusive transitions, leaving nobody behind;
  • In this context, the EU's 'Fit for 55' must be directly linked to the UN 2030 Agenda and crucially, it must be "about people and for people";
  • Without doubt, the climate and energy transitions will result in job losses and higher living costs. Consequently, they must be well prepared, informing, involving and assisting vulnerable consumers and citizens, whilst providing opportunities for upskilling and re-skilling to deal with the economic changes and digitalisation;
  • Particular attention should be paid to the impact of climate change and the energy transition on the European households and families. The decision of the Diversity Europe Group for the EESC to commission a study on this issue is a welcome step in the right direction;
  • Assistance must go well beyond financial redistribution and include preventive and structured actions at European, national, regional and local levels;
  • Policy-makers must explicitly recognise the interrelated relationship between multiple policies (e.g. housing, transport, construction, agriculture, etc.), as well as the necessity to align policies under the overriding objective of poverty reduction;
  • EU Member States should agree on a comprehensive EU political strategy to tackle energy poverty, to be based on common EU definitions, metric systems and indicators;   
  • The EU Social Climate Fund to tackle energy poverty is a welcome step, but will be insufficient meet all of the demands of the transitions. Additional financing through the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, should also be directed towards reducing energy poverty;
  • Incentives for consumers to renovate smartly and sustainably are also necessary at the national, regional and local levels, in tandem with the operationalisation of the EC's Renovation Wave.

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Conclusions and recommendations - Conference 2 March 2022

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