"The Russian aggression in Ukraine and resulting energy crisis has made the just transition more difficult and yet more urgent. It is essential to take into account the current major energy crisis which poses a serious threat to a just and green transition, at least in the short term. The energy sector and energy-intensive industries are struggling with unprecedented price pressures, which put additional pressure on the green transition. The industry's ambitions to become carbon-neutral also depend on the availability of energy sources to replace natural gas and the Just Transition Fund can play a key role in achieving this goal." Sari Rautio, the CoR Rapporteur on the 'Just and Sustainable Transition in the context of the coal and energy intensive regions' made these remarks when presenting here opinion in the CoR's COTER Commission meeting.
The Rapporteur underlined the cumbersome procedures for the approval of the plans submitted and stressed that some regions face problems with the planning and execution of projects due to the fact that the bigger part of the total available funds, coming from the RRF, has been programmed for 2021-2023. In this regard Rautio called for the implementation timeframe of the Fund to be reviewed to ensure the Fund's success.
Rautio, who is Chair of board, Häme health care district underlined that the Just Transition Fund should be mainstreamed within cohesion policy, so that synergies and spill over effects can be fully used She called on regional and local authorities to ensure that cohesion policy programmes also contribute to achieving a just transition.
She added that the mission of a climate-neutral European Union by 2050, which will require a digital and green transition in Europe's municipalities and regions that will fundamentally affect the way people work and live. She thus requested the implementation of a stronger social component in the Just Transition Fund as a place-based instrument, keeping the bottom-up place-oriented approach as the main element of the Fund as each region represents a unique socio-economic ecosystem. Furthermore, she pointed out that the just transition must focus on those regions where change, and the risks it poses, are great.
Further information
The Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) is a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind. It provides targeted support to help mobilise around €55 billion over the period 2021-2027 in the most affected regions, to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the transition.
The opinion of the CoR was adopted by the COTER Commission. The rapporteur will put forward her opinion for adopted by the CoR plenary sessions in October 2022.