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ETUC's Viewpoint on Commission's Climate Change and Energy Package: Implications, Challenges, and Opportunities

This article provides the ETUC's viewpoint on the Commission's Climate Change and Energy Package, discussing the potential implications, challenges, and opportunities for EU growth, jobs, and the environment. It covers topics such as emissions reductions, renewable energy, energy efficiency, near-zero emissions from power plants, R&D and technology deployment, transportation, and the social impact of energy transition. The article emphasizes the need for a just energy transition and highlights the importance of democratic-led reforms, collective bargaining, social dialogue, training, retraining, and compensation for workers affected by climate change policies. It concludes by stressing the importance of supporting the energy package's targets but also recognizing the potential trade-offs involved.

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ETUC's Viewpoint on Commission's Climate Change and Energy Package: Implications, Challenges, and Opportunities

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  1. Commission’s Climate change and energy package: ETUC’s viewpoint S. Dupressoir, Adviser European Trade Union Confederation, Conference What energy policy for the EU? 6 March 2007

  2. 20% emissions reduction by 2020 • Unilateral commitment: what implications for EU growth and jobs ? • Potential cost for employment - relocalisation in energy intensive industries • Border adjustment mechanism vis-à-vis non Kyoto countries? • Emissions trading scheme key instrument, but: • Harmonise allocation process across Member states • Current market signals do not look far enough into the future • Emissions trading alone not likely to trigger sufficient R&D

  3. 20% of energy produced from renewable energy by 2020 • Binding objective? • Ambitious: 7% today, objective 12% in 2010 likely not to be reached • Ignores the human ressources challenge: • Jobs creation potential: around 700.000 new jobs by 2020, excluding agriculture (¾ in biomass, biofuels and wind energy) • Winners and loosers in the near term: • Jobs in fossil fuel industry: in fuel processing and operations and maintenance • Jobs in REs: manufacturing and construction (biomass exc.)

  4. +20% Energy efficiency by 2020 • Not binding, despite feasibility, low cost and wide co-benefits • Jobs creation potential of energy savings in buildings: • Between 280.000 and 1,3 million FTE (EPBD ++/ Factor 4) • Labour intensive (>50% manual), jobs not easily relocated • Contribution to job saving (Germany), social insertion (UK), fight against unemployment (Belgium) • Requires training programmes in sufficient quantity & quality • professionals averse to change, innovation & continuing education • training provisions generally narrow in scope & poorly financed • Missing: high efficiency combined cooling heat and power generation(London)

  5. Achieving near-zero emissions from new power plants by 2020 • Major R&D effort for environmentally safe, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and demo plants by 2015 • Stakes for employment : safeguard jobs in fossil fuel-based power plants and heavy industry; new jobs in R&D; export potential • Requires improved dialogue between society and the scientific world

  6. Major boost in R&D and energy technology deployment IEA: “The changes that are needed are, to a large extent, evolutionary rather than revolutionary” • Technical innovation :increase private and public funding (EU strategic energy technology plan) • Policy innovation (financing, behaviour) • Social innovation (collective bargaining, workers’ participation)

  7. Where is the ‘transport package’? • Aviation included in ETS • + 26% increase in emissions between 1990 and 2004 in EU-15, 93% from road transport • Needed: • Regulation on CO2 cars emissions • Controling transport demand • Infrastructure charging • Road freight transport and shipping : improving social conditions key element

  8. Jobs impacts of emissions reductionsETUC-Syndex-Wuppertal institute-Istas study (2007) Negative impacts on jobs in conventional energy production … but job gains in job intensive sectors

  9. The social impact of energy transition: the missing element • Energy transition towards a low carbon based economy is likely to be a major factor of restructuring in the next decades • Still, the ‘Energy package’ only refers to employment benefits • Democratic-led reform key for successful transition (i.e. Swedish Commission on Oil Independence)

  10. Instruments of a ‘just energy transition’ • EU Observatory on economic, social and employment changes associated with climate change • Collective bargaining & social dialogue: • Training and lifelong learning required to match the new technologies • Retraining for workers who lose their jobs due to climate change policies, and compensation for income losses • Acquiring new rights for information and participation on environmental issues EU sustainable development strategy: ‘Enhance the social dialogue […] to foster cooperation and common responsibilities to achieve sustainable consumption and Production »

  11. Conclusion • The energy package’s targets must be supported : • GHG emissions reduction • Renewables • Energy efficiency • Carbon capture and storage • But provides insufficient means (regulation, human) • Silent about potential trade-offs

  12. Thank you for your attention Sophie Dupressoir www.etuc.org

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