Local governments hold tremendous potential to drive just energy transitions in their communities. ICLEI – as part of the European Alliance for Just Transition – is proud to have officially signed a joint statement advocating for policy reforms and safeguards to ensure that the European Commission's Social Climate Fund (SCF) is a leading instrument that fosters transition that is just for all.

The Social Climate Fund makes up part of the European Commission's “Fit for 55” package, which is a suite of policies and instruments to help Europe reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels). The SCF has the potential to be an impactful instrument that helps deliver a socially fair and just transition to climate neutrality.

In order for the SCF to be effective, the European Alliance for Just Transitions has called on the European Union to take on four central recommendations, which can be summarised as:

1. The SCF’s main objectives must address structural injustices, and the root causes of injustice.
2. The SCF must target underrepresented, systematically disadvantaged, and vulnerable groups, and ensure meaningful participation of such key stakeholders.
3. The SCF must focus on proactive solutions that help vulnerable households access renewable energy and better energy efficiency.
4. The SCF must be adequately funded – its currently proposed funding is not nearly enough to meet its objectives.

To quote directly from the joint statement, taking on these recommendations could ensure that the SCF is able to, “help break the energy poverty cycle for many households, increase social acceptance of the energy transition, drive the achievement of renewable targets sooner, durably alleviate public budgets and increase energy autonomy for the EU, Member States and local communities.”

ICLEI Europe’s endorsement of the Alliance’s joint statement builds on a prior position in which we welcomed the EU’s efforts to foster a just transition.

ICLEI Europe supports implementation of such proactive solutions at the local level with partners across Europe through projects and tools, such as The PowerPoor project’s Energy Poverty Mitigation Toolkit and the Sun4All project’s support scheme.  

For more information, read the European Alliance for Just Transition joint statement here.