This week I concluded my work on an Opinion on the 2030 Framework for climate and energy policies. The drafting of this Opinion is part of consultation process taking place at EU level that was launched in March this year through a Commission green paper on the issue.
Opinions are prepared by European Parliament committees when a particular dossier incorporates issues that are relevant to more than one committee. The lead committee is responsible for drafting the Report into which the Opinion will be subsequently incorporated. In this case the Opinion for which I was responsible was prepared within the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and will feed into the main Report that will eventually establish the European Parliament’s position on this issue when the Report is voted on by all MEPs during the Parliament’s plenary session.
The focus of my work was the effect that changing climate and energy policies will have on employment. The Commission states in its green paper that there exists great potential for job creation in the green economy. But the shift to more sustainable forms of energy production does not mean that our policies should abandon more conventional methods, which account for numerous jobs in Europe, and will certainly continue to do so in the short and medium term.
Nevertheless the targets that are already in place are ambitious. We have already and will continue to change the way produce and use energy. The European workforce, in all areas, but especially energy, should be well prepared to take on altering requirements of business and industry. Certain estimates show that despite high levels of unemployment across the EU, numerous posts remain vacant. This occurs for two principal reasons. Either, quite simply there exists no person with a skills set that is capable of performing the tasks required by the said vacancy. Or persons with the necessary skills exist but not in the place where the job is available. When it comes to the latter, it is the strengthening of the Internal Market that will address this issue. And as I have stated, even in other dossiers dealing with retail and the services sector, which I have also completed this year, the full potential of the Internal Market must be untapped. This is all the more relevant when we consider that certain member states continue to suffer the repercussions of the financial crisis.
In terms of our energy policies we have made clear commitments to become more sustainable and resource efficient. This allows us to plan for the future and ensure that our workforce will be well placed to take on these realities. In this context one often hears the term ‘green jobs’, but what this mean? The term could be defined as jobs that will contribute to the attainment of our sustainable energy policy objectives. More technically, the term refers to jobs in industry, agriculture, research and development that have as their aim the restoration or preservation of environmental quality.
The crisis has brought consequences on member state finances and also the ability of industry to adapt. In some cases the targets in place have created burdensome obligations at a time when the ability to comply is restricted. This is why we call for economic realties to be taken into account. Indeed, while sustainability should remain a priority the targets we set must be achievable.
The Opinion also deals with industry that is highly energy intensive. This is most typical of Scandinavian countries were industrial processes required for the production of steel for instance needs massive amounts of electricity. The crisis and resulting higher energy tariffs placed disproportionate strains on relevant sectors. We have called for measures to be implemented that address potential job losses in this area.
The Opinion adopted unanimously last week will be inserted into the main Report that will be adopted.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP