The European Parliament today approved the most ambitious climate package yet, with a multibillion social mechanism delivered through Casa’s Social Climate Fund.

“The Social Climate Fund is the most significant social measure on the road to net zero,” MEP David Casa said.

Casa explained that the €86.7 billion fund will be invested to shield households and micro-enterprises from the effects of the climate transition. 

“We have robust safeguards on how governments will operate the Fund, especially through strict targeting requirements to ensure that funding goes where it will have the biggest impact. The Commission will evaluate detailed plans on how the measures are designed and implemented, with funds only being disbursed upon completion of milestones and targets.”

Maltese citizens are set to benefit from a ten-fold increase in funding under the provisional agreement, a mobilisation of just over €60 million. On the increase for the share for Maltese citizens, Casa said that “there was a strong case to be made and I am very happy to have achieved this result”.

Casa was the lead negotiator of the Social Climate Fund on behalf of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, working jointly with Esther de Lange of the Netherlands on behalf of the Committee on the Environment and Food Safety.

Measures in the Social Climate Fund will be funded in large part by EU funds, with a minority co-financing rate by member states.

“The point of the Fund is to bring down energy bills and to move away from fossil fuels. We can achieve both by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. With the Social Climate Fund, I want to see investments reach citizens with more solar panels, more efficient appliances, better insulation, and greener alternatives to transport.”

The Social Climate Fund is the cornerstone of the fit-for-55 package’s social policy, addressing any disproportionate effects that climate measures may have on vulnerable households and micro-enterprises.