The Renew Europe Group welcomes the inter-institutional agreement on establishing a Social Climate Fund, one of the centrepieces of the Fit for 55 package. The Fund will amount to 86.7 billion and will run for five years from 2027 onwards, with the possibility of one-year frontloading. It will provide funding to Member States in order to support the most vulnerable households, transport users and micro-enterprises faced with higher energy and transport costs expected to result from the extension of the Emission Trading System (ETS) to two new sectors, namely that of buildings and road transport. Concrete measures such as direct income support or long-term investments to reduce reliance on fossil fuels through increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, decarbonisation of heating and cooling of buildings, or providing better access to zero and low-emission mobility will be covered by this Fund.
During the negotiations, Renew Europe advocated for an ambitious and efficient Fund targeted to those who need it most, ensuring that vulnerable citizens can benefit from direct payments from the Fund as long as they can also benefit from long-term investments, thus helping to reduce energy and transport poverty.
Likewise, our group pushed for securing that the disbursement of the EU money is linked to robust policy frameworks at the national level, including the proper implementation of the new Emission Trading System, and to a strong and transparent monitoring system at the EU level.
MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Mouvement Démocrate, France), Renew Europe shadow rapporteur on the Social Climate Fund on behalf of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), declared:
“The agreement reached on the Social Climate Fund and the reform of the carbon market is historic. The European Union has been able to adapt the instruments at its disposal to achieve its climate ambition, while responding to the needs of its citizens who are affected by energy and transport poverty. Europe is keeping its promise: the climate transition will be fair, social and will leave no one behind!”.
MEP Dragoş Pîslaru (REPER, Romania), Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), said:
“The level of ambition in this agreement has just put Europe as a front runner in fighting climate change and supporting a fair transition for our citizens. The Social Climate Fund is essential so that we bring all our citizens in line with a climate neutral continent, even those who would have not afford it. The Fund will support the most vulnerable households, but beyond this, it will help in changing societal patterns towards energy efficiency, new heating and cooling systems, and cleaner mobility.”
