As Europe progresses towards its sustainability goals, some social groups and regions will be more heavily impacted than others. Ensuring that these transitions are fair is essential; otherwise, there is a risk of worsening current inequalities or introducing new ones, which could lead to social divides, dissatisfaction, and resistance to change.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) released a timely new report on 5 November that addresses crucial issues for ensuring fairness as Europe moves towards the European Green Deal objectives. As a contributing author through the EEA’s European Topic Centre on Sustainability Transitions, ICLEI Europe has drawn on its expanding experience working with cities on just transitions to shape the report’s key messages.

The report emphasises that Europe needs policies to mitigate social inequalities that may arise from the green transition, alongside fostering inclusive sustainability decision-making that honours various cultures, values, and capacities. Readers will learn about:

• The fundamentals of just sustainability transitions
• Key EU just transition policies
• Examples of various just transitions in practice, including ICLEI Members Barcelona (Spain) and Brussels (Belgium)
• Reflections and recommendations for policy makers

The report can be found here: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/just-sustainability-transitions

Meanwhile, ICLEI Europe will continue its collaboration with the EEA’s European Topic Centre on Sustainability Transitions to produce informative resources on the topics of intergenerational justice, organisational sufficiency, and multi-level urban transformations.