Tuesday, 21 January 2020, 12h30-14h30

ETUI Monthly Forum

The European Green Deal and just transition: coal, cars and the world of work

Welcome: Philippe Pochet, General Director ETUI

Introduction: Béla Galgóczi, Senior Researcher ETUI and editor of the book “Towards a just transition: coal, cars and the world of work”

The transformation of the coal industry in Poland and Germany: Aleksander Szpor, Polish Economic Institute and Philipp Litz, Agora Energiewende

What is at stake for the European car industry in a carbon-neutral future? Stefan Guga, Syndex and Christian Brunkhorst, IG Metall

Comments: Ludovic Voet, Confederal Secretary ETUC and Katarina Jaksic, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion DG, European Commission TBC

Moderator: Sotiria Theodoropoulou, Head of the Unit “European economic, employment and social policies” ETUI

Briefing: Stepping up its earlier commitments, in November 2018, the European Commission set the long-term objective of a climate-neutral Europe which should be achieved by 2050. The European Green Deal, announced by the new Commission as its flagship initiative, aims at transforming this objective into concrete policies. This paradigm change can only succeed if it happens in a socially balanced way based on the principle of `just transition’, a framework developed by the trade-union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting towards sustainability. Declarations about the European Green Deal suggest that a social dimension would be one of its integral elements. The cases of two key sectors of the European economy—energy and the automotive industry—demonstrate why this is important.

Venue: ITUH, Bd du Roi Albert II, 5; 1210 Brussels, Room B, 1st floor

To register, please click here

A light lunch will be served from 12h in the restaurant on the same floor.