Local leaders urge new Commission to help mitigate the uneven impact of the green transition while reinforcing competitiveness

As the European Union strives to achieve its CO2 emission reduction targets, local and regional leaders have urged the incoming European Commission to mitigate the uneven impacts of the transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral economy.

With many areas facing significant economic and social challenges, members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) stressed the urgent need for targeted EU funding and a technology neutral approach to ensure a just transition that does not compromise the competitiveness of Europe's regions and industries in an opinion by rapporteur Marco Marsilio (IT/ECR), president of Abruzzo region, adopted during the plenary session on 8 October.

CoR members appealed to the incoming European Commission and Commissioner-designate for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto, urging them to reduce the fragmentation of EU funding and focus on delivering more effective support for the just transition. They called for a promotion of a transition based on a technology-neutral approach and called for an assessment of economic resources needed to achieve the targets, thereby minimising negative impacts on those industrial sectors concerned. 

It is vital to ensure that Europe supports Member States, regions, and local authorities in achieving upward economic and social convergence, the CoR said - an argument also reflected in the mission letter of President von der Leyen to Executive Vice-President-designate Fitto, who will also serve as an Executive Vice-President. The CoR opinion maintains that by streamlining funds and providing targeted support to the regions most affected by the transition to climate neutrality, the EU will be in a position to better assist communities heavily reliant on fossil fuels and carbon-intensive industries. A place-based approach is key as each region represents a unique industrial and socio-economic ecosystem. 

Local and regional leaders called in the opinion for the European Commission to develop a proposal for a robust future cohesion policy with a strong transition component. This new policy should include supplemental funding allocations, targeted at regions heavily reliant on strategic greenhouse gas-intensive sectors with a large pool of specialised workers, such as the automotive industry. 

The CoR highlighted the vital role of the automotive sector and urged the European Commission to consider an earlier review in 2025 of the legislation setting CO2 emission targets for new passenger cars and vans, to ensure that European carmakers have sufficient time to adapt. They also highlighted the potential of climate-neutral biofuels to serve as a sustainable alternative to traditional fuels in combustion engines, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional fuels. 

Further, members called on the European Commission to minimise fund fragmentation in the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027 and clarify the roles of each policy and funding instrument. They advocated for a unified strategic approach for all funds supporting just transition strategies, while drawing lessons from the implementation of the current Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) and exploring how it can be improved and expanded. 

Quote: 

Rapporteur Marco Marsilio (IT/ECR), President of Abruzzo region: “If we want to achieve some of the most ambitious transition targets, for example in the automotive sector, we should stop banning productive activities that are in the process of transition, such as the production of combustion engine vehicles. Instead, we should put in place the right incentives and support research and innovation to new solutions, such as biofuels. We have an enormous task in front of us. The EU's ambitious transition to a climate-neutral economy is having increasingly profound implications for Europe's regions, workers, industries and society at large. With this in mind, it is essential that the transition is based on technology neutrality and managed in a gradual and balanced way.”

More information:  

• A just and fair transition towards decarbonising the transport sector is the primary concern of the Automotive Regions Alliance, a political network of regions committed to the successful transition of the European automotive and supply industry. The Alliance is an initiative of the CoR that recognises the need for decisive action to achieve the EU's climate targets and aims to bring together regions with a strong automotive sector that want to play an active role in decarbonising the transport sector while strengthening regional industrial ecosystems. 

• 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.