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Spain is on track to phase out coal for energy production ahead of its initial planning of 2030. The EU will help deliver a just climate transition in the regions affected by the corresponding closures of coal mines and coal power plants. This includes most notably the region of Asturias, which will receive almost one third of the Spanish JTF funding.
Regional and local leaders and EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform Elisa Ferreira discussed on 4 February how to accelerate the launch of new cohesion policy programmes, ensure their timely implementation and integrate them with national recovery plans.
As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union secured an unprecedented amount of investment for a fair, green and digital recovery. React EU, the Just Transition Fund, the European Fund for Regional Development, the Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European agricultural fund for rural development as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility form a unique toolbox that can deliver an inclusive recovery as well as fair green and digital transitions.
Absorbing and implementing all available EU funds is a demanding challenge for national, regional and local governments. As highlighted by the plenary debate, centralisation and top down solutions risk undermine the investment impact in several member states. For this reason, CoR members and Commissioner Ferreira called for the full involvement of regional and local governments in the design of comprehensive recovery plans, in line with the partnership principle, in order to make the best possible use of the synergies between all the available instruments.
On Wednesday, EP and Council reached a provisional agreement on setting up the Just Transition Fund to mitigate the social impact of greening the economy.
Hours before the European Commission announced higher climate objectives for 2030, the European Parliament voted to allow funding for fossil gas projects under the bloc’s flagship Just Transition Fund.
The European assembly of local and regional politicians adopted their recommendations for the Just Transition Fund, which aims at supporting regions to meet the challenges of the green transition. Rapporteur Vojko Obersnel (HR/PES), mayor of Rijeka, calls for an ambitious EU support so that no one and no place is left behind in the transition to a revived and green economy.
A large number of European organisations, including eceee, urge the Parliament not to allow fossil fuels to be eligible for financing through the EU 40 billion EUR Just Transition Fund. A crucial vote takes place on the 6th of July.
The EU Just Transition Fund Regulation will be voted on in the lead European Parliament Committee, REGI, on Monday 6th July. The current rapporteur and several political groups are pushing heavily for an exemption that would allow fossil gas projects to be financed with the 40 billion EUR fund.
European Union countries agreed on Wednesday (24 June) that the bloc's flagship fund to wean regions off fossil fuels should not finance nuclear or natural gas projects, despite calls from some Eastern countries for gas to be eligible for EU funding.
The European Commission is due to release proposals this week to enshrine the EU's goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 into hard legislation. But concerns remains over the size of a fund aimed at making the transition smoother for countries heavily dependent on coal and other polluting industries.
A fund originally conceived to convince Poland to sign up to the EU’s 2050 climate target has now turned into one of the most contentious aspects of both the Green Deal and the long-term EU budget.
Ce fonds n’a pas été conçu pour financer les infrastructures de transport, mais il n’est pas inconcevable qu’il soutienne des filières transport considérées comme stratégiques dans les territoires en transition. Décryptage.
The EU's regional policy Commissioner Elisa Ferreira revealed on Tuesday (14 January) details of the €100 billion Just Transition Mechanism, a key financial component of the European Green Deal that should make the bloc climate neutral by 2050.
Le mécanisme que présentera la Commission européenne le 14 janvier sera ouvert aux 27 États membres, selon deux documents que publie Contexte. Appuyé sur un « fonds de transition juste », un système de garantie spécifique pour les investissements privés, et un mécanisme de prêt public appuyé par la BEI, il vise à mobiliser 100 milliards d’euros.
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Heads of municipalities in Slovenia’s coal regions – Savinjsko-Šaleška, and Zasavje decided to establish a council of mayors to monitor the phaseout of coal and secure just transition. In the meantime, the government has published action plans for phasing out coal in the two regions. The documents will help Slovenia tap on the Just Transition Fund.
The European Green Deal sets out Europe’s ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Given the different starting points of various regions to face the coming changes, the Just Transition Fund was created with the aim of alleviating the socio-economic impacts of the transition, so as to ensure that everyone in Europe benefits from it. In order for it to be successful, it is clear that young people have to be involved. In this context, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy published a ‘Toolkit for Youth Participation in the Just Transition Fund’. It aims to encourage more ambitious, meaningful and numerous participation opportunities for youth in the regions targeted by the Just Transition Fund.
Hours after the European Commission announced plans to increase the GHG emissions reduction target to 55%, MEPs voted to keep fossil fuels in the Just Transition Fund.
Berlin et Varsovie devraient être les grandes gagnantes de ce mécanisme visant à aider les économies à sortir des énergies fossiles.
For the post-2020 budget, the EU has fixed the objective of spending 25% (EUR 320 billion) of its long-term budget on climate action, an increase of 5% compared to the current budget. However, to avoid climate catastrophe, this percentage alone will not be sufficient: the whole EU budget should be aligned with the Paris Agreement in what is called the ‘climate proofing’ ofthe budget.
On Monday (6 July), the European Parliament's Regional Affairs Committee will vote on a draft of the Just Transition Fund, which is considered highly controversial. The Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), of all groups, had formed a united front calling for the production of natural gas. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Has coal consumption peaked? Who is turning away from coal?
In a previous article published in 2019, we explained why global coal consumption was on the rise. Recent announcements by several governments on their coal phase-out plans, the advanced closure of old power plants and the freezing of some projects under construction may indicate a reversal of the trend for coal in the coming years. Do these signs herald the end of coal in the world?
Using Enerdata’s databases and information sources, we decipher the major global coal trends in the short and medium term. This brief was prepared by Bruno Lapillonne, co-founder of Enerdata and Carine Sebi, Chair coordinator at Grenoble Ecole de Management.
PGE is ready to actively contribute to EU climate ambitions by investing heavily in low-carbon power generation technologies as evidenced by our investment plans. However, we will need adequate support in the process.
Poland’s PGE is one of Europe’s most fossil fuel intensive energy firms. Coal makes up around 90% of its electricity generation. It’s been investing around PLN 28bn ($7.2bn, €7bn) to build three new coal power plant units, acquire the Polish coal assets of France’s EDF, and upgrade its existing fleet to meet air quality standards. But a new and detailed report from IEEFA warns that the profitability of these investments will decline in the 2020s thanks to rising carbon costs, falling capacity payments and high maintenance expenditures. A high carbon price will make them loss-making. Instead the report “How to Create a Profitable Polish Electricity System” recommends that PGE invest urgently in low-carbon, low-risk, high-cash generating assets, and especially renewables.
The Commission’s proposal for a Just Transition Fund is encouraging as fossil fuels have been excluded. Special attention should be given though to key elements such as its mode of governance, geographical scope, and the types of activities eligible for funding.
The European Commission’s €7.5-billion-strong Just Transition Fund (JTF) is set to allocate €2 billion to Poland and €877 million to Germany under a proposal sent to national governments on Wednesday (15 January).
The Just Transition Fund presents an opportunity to get the EU on track towards climate neutrality, but only if it requires all countries to present phase out plans for high-emission technologies like coal burning, argues Rebekka Popp, researcher at the climate change think tank E3G
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