The Commission has adopted the Dutch Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) making €623 million available under the Just Transition Fund (JTF) to support a fair transition to a climate-neutral economy.
- 02 December 2022
The Fund will support six Dutch regions - Groningen and Emmen, IJmond, Groot-Rijnmond, Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, West-Noord-Brabant and Zuid-Limburg – helping them move away from an economy centred on fossil-fuel extraction or carbon-intensive industries.
Investments in clean technologies
The JTF will invest in green technologies for the chemical industry and steel production. It will also support the use of bio-based raw materials in the chemical industry.
Regional networks for renewable hydrogen will be developed and local electricity networks will be improved to support the electrification of industrial processes.
It will support further innovation in circularity for industry and help create new industrial value chains that will be useful to local small and medium-sized businesses.
Finally, the JTF will also support energy efficiency in housing, the production of renewable energies as well as climate-neutral logistics, for example via the electrification of inland vessels.
Green jobs and reskilling of local workers
The JTF will invest in the training of 49,000 workers who currently work in the fossil sector to equip them with new skills to work in renewable and climate neutral industries.
As such, the Fund will also improve local labour mobility and support the labour force, by investing in human capital and in the diversification of the local economies, helping to create new jobs in carbon-neutral sectors.
Members of the College said:
Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said: “The Netherlands is strongly positioned to reap the benefits of the transition to a climate-neutral Europe. Businesses are ready to move towards future technologies like renewable hydrogen. Dutch citizens are eager to see these opportunities come to life. The plan that we have developed together with the regions demonstrates very concretely how support from the European Union benefits new economic activities in Groningen and Emmen, IJmond, Groot-Rijnmond, Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, West-Noord-Brabant and Zuid-Limburg.”
Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “EU funding is helping the Netherlands to give its citizens and workers a greener and fairer future. The investments from the Just Transition Fund help Europe move towards climate neutrality, while at the same time developing the Netherlands’ economy and creating new opportunities for its citizens.”
Background
The JTF supports territories that are particularly affected by the transition towards a climate-neutral economy. The Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) identify these territories with the Commission during the negotiations of the 2021-2027 Partnership Agreements and the associated programmes. The Commission approved the Partnership Agreement with the Netherlands in June 2022. The TJTPs, developed in close consultation with local partners, identify the challenges and development needs in each territory, and the objectives to be met by 2030. They also identify the planned actions with specific governance mechanisms.
The approval of TJTPs opens the door to dedicated financing under the other two pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM): a just transition scheme under InvestEU and a Public Sector Loan Facility for Just Transition that combines Commission grants with European Investment Bank loans.
The JTM is a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind. It provides targeted support to help mobilise around €55 billion over the period 2021-2027 in the most affected regions.
Lastly, the Just Transition Platform supports all stakeholders involved in just transition and helps them to share experiences and best practices to accelerate a just transition.
More information
- The Just Transition Mechanism: making sure no one is left behind
- The Just Transition Platform: Accompanying Member States and regions to achieve a just transition
- Breakdown of Just Transition Fund allocations per Member State
- Questions and Answers on the EU Cohesion Policy legislative package 2021-2027
- Cohesion Open Data Platform
- Kohesio
- 2021-2027 Partnership Agreements