Just Transition Platform

The Commission continues to work intensively with Member States and regions to discuss the final details linked to the Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs), in order to mobilise funds and guide the accelerated transition process. Recent months have seen the adoption of Just Transition Fund (JTF) programmes in many Member States. In the period since mid-September, JTF funding has been announced for the following regions:

• Czechia will receive €1.64 billion in JTF grants, focusing in particular on the regions of Karlovarsky, Ústecky and Moravskoslezsky.
• Estonia will receive €354 million in JTF grants to support its Ida-Viru region.
• Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony Anhalt will receive a combined total of €2.5 billion.
• Malta will be supported by €23 million.
• Slovakia will receive €459 million for its Upper Nitra, Košice and Banská Bystrica regions.
• Denmark will receive approximately €89 million to benefit the regions of North and South Jutland in particular.
• Latvia will receive €192 million to support the regions of Vidzeme, Latgale, Zemgale and Kurzeme.
• In the Netherlands, a total of €623 million will support six regions: Groningen and Emmen, IJmond, Groot-Rijnmond, Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, West-Noord-Brabant and Zuid-Limburg.
• Poland will be supported by more than €3.85 billion for the regions of Silesia, Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Lower Silesia and Łódzkie.
• Croatia will receive €179 million to support Istria and Sisak-Moslavina.
• Romania will receive €2.14 billion to support Dolj, Galaţi, Gorj, Hunedoara, Mureş and Prahova.
• Funding has also recently been announced for the various regions of France:
  • Hauts-de-France (€228 million)
  • Loire-Atlantique (€48 million)
  • Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Grand-Est (€190 million)
  • Normandy (€106 million)
  • Bouches-du-Rhône (€148 million).

In total, 38 TJTPs have now been approved across 16 Member States, mobilising more than €14.2 billion.

You can find a map of proposed and approved JTF territories on the Just Transition Platform website. This is updated regularly and includes links to the published programmes and plans. Please note that additional technical assistance for regions will also be provided from next year.

Thank you to all those who attended the sixth Just Transition Platform (JTP) Conference on 24-26 October. The hybrid event brought together over 1 000 registered participants, including over 200 in person in Brussels. The Conference provided a space for the just transition community to exchange knowledge and good practices at a critical moment, in the context of the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and the progression into JTF implementation. Thematic sessions featured inspiring presentations, examples and discussions. The four JTP Working Groups on steel, cement, chemicals, and horizontal stakeholder strategy also met in Brussels alongside the main event.

At the Conference, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira – who was joined at the event by Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson – urged continued collective action from just transition stakeholders:

“I urge all of you: remain committed, remain active, make your voice heard, and let us all work together – Member States and regions, local authorities and trade unions, youth and non-governmental organisations – for a green transition which leaves no one behind,” she said.

Read more about the conclusions from the Conference. If you missed the Conference, you can also watch back the sessions online on Swapcard or via the Commission’s streaming service (Monday 24 October; Tuesday 25 October).

The public sector loan facility (PSLF) has launched a call for proposals to support just transition investments by public sector entities. The PSLF is the third pillar of the Just Transition Mechanism. It supports a wide range of sustainable investments addressing the challenges deriving from the transition. It combines grant support provided by the Commission (approx. €1.5 billion) with European Investment Bank (EIB) loans (up to €10 billion). It will finance projects which do not generate a sufficient stream of revenues to cover investment costs.

The Facility supports projects which benefit territories most negatively affected by the climate transition, as defined in the TJTPs. PSLF applicants can submit their project proposals to the European Commission and submit their related loan request to the EIB. Support can also be received for the preparation, development and implementation of investment projects eligible for grant funding and EIB lending from the PSLF via the InvestEU Advisory Hub.

Here are all the key details on the call:

• Who can apply: public sector entities (national, regional or local) or private bodies with a public service mission.
• What can be supported: Eligible projects must fall within the sectors indicated in an adopted TJTP.
• When to apply: The upcoming cut-off dates are 19 January 2023, 19 April 2023 and 19 September 2023.
• How to get support:
  • European Commission grants: Visit the EU Funding and tender opportunities portal via the call page.
  • EIB loans: More information is available in this article or the EIB’s Loans for the public sector web page.
• More information:
  • check out the Just Transition Platform website;
  • watch the recording of the PSLF info day for some more detailed information on how to obtain support;
  • check out the FAQs published on the PSLF call page of the EU Funding and tender opportunities portal (link);
  • contact CINEA through the PSLF functional mailbox (CINEA-JTM-PSLF@ec.europa.eu), the EIB or the InvestEU Advisory Hub for advisory support.

The new knowledge repository area of the JTP website is an online hub of useful knowledge relating to Europe’s transition to a climate-neutral economy. Here, you will find a selection of useful documents about relevant projects and policy approaches linked to the just transition. These documents include policy approaches, which present information and lessons learned on approaches to policy at national, regional or local level supporting a just transition to a climate-neutral economy. They also include examples of individual projects of relevance to the just transition to a climate-neutral economy, including regional or local projects across the EU’s public and private sectors. You will also find a list of relevant sources, including studies and databases.

These documents have been prepared via desk research, interviews and surveys. The research team is currently finalising a second batch of products and continues to collect examples. If you have a relevant initiative to share, we invite you to fill out this short survey.

The COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference took place in Egypt on 6‒20 November. At the conference, the EU agreed to a compromise to keep the Paris Agreement alive and protect those most vulnerable to climate change. The EU's bridge-building efforts have helped put in place new funding arrangements to help vulnerable communities in developing countries to face loss and damage caused by climate change. You can read more about the conclusions from COP27 in this EU press release and this statement from President von der Leyen.