Extraordinary meeting Civil Society Organisations' Group Meeting: Reinventing the Moravian-Silesian Region in search of a socially just transition – Opening speech

Dear Séamus,

Good morning, everyone.

First and foremost, I want to thank the EESC Civil Society Organizations' Group for organising this timely and topical event. It is a great pleasure to be with you today! As Seamus mentioned, the transition of the Moravian-Silesian Region is a very complex one and serves as an excellent example for regions in transition across Europe.

Regrettably, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has added more complexity to an economically and socially highly difficult situation characterised by inflation, high energy and food prices and possible energy shortages. Let's be clear: The EESC has condemned the war in Ukraine from day 1 and fully supports the sanctions against Russia. But it becomes immanent that Europe – and our citizens – pay also a price for this war.

According to the September OECD economic forecast, the disruption in energy markets and the decline in real income will weaken growth in the second half of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 – if not far longer. Let's hope, joint European efforts will proof this forecast wrong – but let's also be aware of the risks we are facing and let's work on a Green transition at a pace our societies and businesses are able to follow and with accompanying measures ensuring nobody is left behind.

These are not easy times but we have to keep something in mind and let me quote here President Von der Leyen from speech of the State of the Union that is very interesting for the debate we are addressing today.  She reminded that: "Half a century ago, in the 1970s, the world faced another fossil fuel crisis. Some of us remember the car-free weekends to save energy. Yet we kept driving on the same road. We did not get rid of our dependency on oil. And worse, fossil fuels were even massively subsidised. This was wrong, not just for the climate, but also for our public finances, and our independence". With the current crises and the invasion of Ukraine, let's not make the same mistakes as in the past. Let's do things right.

The Moravian-Silesian Region can be seen as a leading example for the energy transition of coal regions leading to an innovative and technological resilient future. We have not yet completed the way from a coal mining Europe to a data mining Europe: in the EU, coal still accounts for about 20% of total electricity production. It also provides jobs to around 230,000 people in mines and power plants across 31 regions and 11 EU countries. While coal remains a primary fuel in the European energy mix, the path is clear: the transition to cleaner forms of energy and innovative technologies. The energy transition towards a low-emission economy will affect many sectors and lives, prominently in the coal industry. We all know there is only one way forward – towards a greener and more sustainable Europe. At the same time, we must be realistic and find pragmatic solutions for the energy transition. We must bring together the relevant stakeholders, share our knowledge across industries and sectors and learn from examples such as the Moravian-Silesian Region. Businesses must be seen as part of this solution.

I strongly believe in the huge potential that Europe has in the field of renewable energies. It must be identified as accurately as possible. Targeted public financing and private investments are key to the success of the energy transition. Access to available public funding such as the Just Transition Fund must be simple and widely promoted. This fund aim is to balance the socio-economic impacts of the transition specifically in fossil-fuel dependent and carbon-intensive regions. Regions should be encouraged to change, stimulate innovative development, maintain investment attractiveness and create opportunities for employment and a decent life.

Both, public and private investments are urgently needed and at a bigger scale - in particular in Research & Innovation as well as in education, up- and reskilling. Looking at the history of the humankind, technological revolutions are not new, particularly, since the industrial revolution, several economic and social transformations have taken place, with an important conversion of sectors and displacements of jobs. In many cases, these transformations have been highly disruptive with job losses and social harsh in the affected regions. But, also, as a result of each technological revolution, new jobs have been created -more than the ones destroyed- and new economic and social opportunities aroused. In this regard, the digitalisation and greening of the economy offers unprecedented opportunities.

Social consensus must be a priority. We need to be ready to provide adequate answers to the impact of the energy transition on people and businesses, particularly SMEs. The inability to provide adequate support to those hardest hit can lead to strong political and social resistance and eventually heavily impact our democracies.

I know that the Moravian-Silesian region has made significant efforts to transform itself from a coal mining region to a sustainable and low-carbon region fit for the future.  It has managed to find a way how to move from heavy industry to digital, cultural and creative industries. The Moravian-Silesian Innovation Centre is a great example of public efforts to support this transformation. It provides services to support entrepreneurship and cultivate the mindset of people living in the Moravian-Silesian Region to become more entrepreneurial. It is the front-runner in spreading new ideas including those related to the digitization of businesses. 

In this sense, I am looking forward to hear your experience that can definitely serve as an example for other regions in a similar situation and give them inspiration when undergoing profound structural changes. We need to incentive sharing of good practice and experiences in successful just transition. I am convinced, today's conference will serve that purpose.

Thank you for your attention.

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Extraordinary meeting Civil Society Organisations' Group Meeting: Reinventing the Moravian-Silesian Region in search of a socially just transition – Opening speech

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