EU coal regions building on their strengths for a just transition

Against a changing landscape at the EU political level, with a new European Parliament, and a newly elected president of the European Commission coming into place, coal regions from all over the EU met on 16-17 October in Brussels to discuss their path towards decarbonisation and a just transition. 

Speaking at the 6th Working Group meeting of the Coal Regions in Transition Platform, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, Deputy Director General at DG Energy reassured participants that the European Commission’s Green New Deal includes higher climate targets “but also takes into account the social component to include citizens and the most vulnerable regions while considering energy security and affordability”. 

The move beyond coal is advancing at a steady pace in many EU Member States, with countries such as Greece and Hungary recently announcing plans to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2028 and 2030 respectively. In addition, Member States such as Germany, which is preparing legislation and funding measures for coal phase-out, and Slovakia, which is directing funds to Just Transition, are making evident progress.

EU coal regions participating in the Working Group meeting share a commitment to a successful just transition but are all too aware of the challenges in employment shifts and the importance of social dialogue during the economic restructuring of their respective areas. Thus, one of the key areas of discussion was on the need, in the context of a clear long-term and flexible strategy, to ensure the involvement of local communities and stakeholders and facilitate local leadership with national support. 

The Platform for coal regions in transition provides a space for regions to learn from each other and draw conclusions for a successful transition. Successful cases of transition from Leipzig, Eindhoven and Finland highlighted the importance of infrastructure development and innovation to drive new economic activity and the vital role of cooperation between different levels of government to enable positive, sustained economic change.

Florian Woitek, Desk Officer at the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport said: “We built a city tunnel that connects smaller towns and medium-size areas to the city centre, which generates mobility for the labour force and consumers, and incentivises demand”. Part of the process for urban development in Leipzig was to have strong grassroots involvement “with town hall meetings, discussions and workshops, to ensure citizens take part in these developments”. 

Working together with a range of stakeholders to identify opportunities, attract private investments and promote entrepreneurship is part of the process in the development of economic diversification. Speaking on the panel on transition success stories Chris McDonald, Policy Analyst at the Regional Development and Tourism Division of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), said that infrastructure and investments “should redeploy or build upon the existing strengths of each region".

Beyond Europe, “the discussion around just transition has gained international momentum. Countries outside of the EU going through transitions and phase-outs are interested to learn from us, and we are interested in learning from them”, said Klaus-Dieter Borchardt. During the meeting, the Platform welcomed a delegation from Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, who presented the economic and environmental challenges in their path towards decarbonisation, and representatives from Ukraine, where there is a need for alternative employment and economic opportunities for its citizens.