About: Just Transition Fund

EU agrees its green transition fund will not support natural gas

The European Union's flagship fund to wean regions off fossil fuels will not finance natural gas projects, EU governments said on Wednesday (16 December), ending a debate over whether to make the fuel eligible for support.

Fossil fuels axed from EU’s just transition fund, but loophole remains for gas

The European Parliament reached a provisional agreement with EU member states on Wednesday (9 December), which sees fossil fuels axed from the EU's just transition fund but finding their way back into EU regional development funding until 2025.

EU aims for a just transition in industry, but hurdles remain

The EU has set targets for a just transition that leaves no one behind, but inadequate funding and underrepresenting important perspectives could hamper progress.

EU institutions close in on cohesion package deal

EU lawmakers have struck a deal on a new structural aid fund and are approaching a compromise on supporting regions transitioning from coal, with the final white smoke from co-legislators on total regional support from the EU's next seven-year budget expected on Wednesday. (9 December).

Warsaw says ‘further analysis needed’ before EU’s 2030 climate target can be agreed

Further analysis into the impact of tougher climate goals on EU member states is needed before Poland can sign up to the European Commission’s proposed 55% greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030, a senior Polish minister has said.

Meeting the new 2030 emissions targets: how do we get there?

Alongside the ambition of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, President von der Leyen’s Commission has made clear its aim of ensuring a ‘just transition’ for all European citizens and territories.

Financing mechanisms for the energy sector: Ensuring a fair transition for all Member States

Climate neutrality translates into commitments undertaken by various industries, communities and other stakeholders. The European energy sector is already committed to be carbon neutral before 2050.

Social investment cannot be left behind in the Just Transition Fund 

As policymakers, our task is to ensure that no one will be left behind in the energy transition and that the effort of transition will be fairly shared, writes Mounir Satouri. Mounir Satouri is a French Member of the European...

Cities see lobbying efforts bear fruit in drive for direct access to EU funds

The coronavirus pandemic has opened new opportunities for European urban centres to have greater access and be involved more in the spending of EU funds. While personal meetings play a crucial role lobbying efforts, the pandemic has pushed the Commission...

Parliament votes to allow gas projects in the Just Transition Fund

Hours before the EU executive 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.

EU institutions caught in crossfire over Just Transition Fund

The European Parliament will vote on Tuesday and Wednesday (15-16 September) on the Just Transition Fund. But this mechanism, initially designed to finance the social aspects of the transition to a low-carbon economy, has now been extended to finance gas projects. EURACTIV France reports.

MEPs warn of insufficient control over EU climate spending

The European Parliament rejected on Thursday (23 July) the hard-won decisions of the EU Council. MEPs criticised, among other things, cuts to climate programmes and voiced fear that billions of euros could fall into the wrong hands. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Workers’ involvement should not be ‘decorative’ in coronavirus recovery, expert says

If EU leaders agree on the EU's seven-year budget and the recovery fund on Friday (17 July), this could facilitate the transition to a more modern and greener Europe. But labour representatives also want to ensure that workers have a say in the entire policymaking process. 

EU lawmakers divided over inclusion of natural gas in Just Transition Fund

The European Parliament's Regional Affairs Committee will vote Monday (6 July) on the EU's proposed €40 billion Just Transition Fund, which aims to support the bloc's 108 coal-producing regions in their transition to a low-carbon economy. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Housing’s role in Europe’s green transition

What investment could be wiser than one that protects the most vulnerable and contributes to climate change mitigation by decreasing our energy consumption? The Just Transition Fund must recognise housing as a cornerstone of the green transition, argue two leading MEPs and civil society leaders.

EU grapples with ‘regressive’ climate laws

Avoiding another “yellow vest” movement will be crucial for the success of the energy transition as Europe moves forward with a new wave of policies aimed at cutting emissions down to net zero by 2050, policymakers say.

EU ministers exclude nuclear, fossil gas from green transition 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 Just Transition Fund must reward climate ambition

The EU's Just Transition Fund must reward climate ambition and prioritise Europe’s coal communities where the cliff-edge is fast approaching, writes Niklas Nienaß.

Cohesion becomes central to EU recovery package

Through the new REACT-EU emergency instrument, cohesion policy will be one of the key elements in the European Commission's proposal for a recovery package, which takes into account that the impact of the COVID-19 crisis has been uneven across the EU. 

EU boosts ‘just transition fund’, pledging €40 billion to exit fossil fuels

The European Commission has increased five-fold its proposed EU fund to wean carbon-intensive regions off fossil fuels, with fresh cash from a new recovery fund to help Europe's ailing economies rebound after the new coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 is testing the EU’s ‘Just Transition’ plan

As with all things, COVID-19 is shaking up the EU’s new long-term budget and the Just Transition Fund along with it. For coal dependent member states like Poland, catching up in the clean energy transition may be their only option to avoid losing the battle for EU funding, argue Rebekka Popp and Pieter de Pous.

Flanders chooses EU Green Deal as battleground between regions

Belgium will not join more than a dozen member states in insisting the Green Deal must serve as a basis for the coronavirus recovery, after a dispute among the three regional parliaments and the government nixed the chances of a common position.