ENVI

Sustainable Symphony of Souls: The EU aims to be climate-neutral by 2050, which necessitates a range of strategies in climate action. Given that low-income communities are often disproportionately affected by climate change, how can the EU develop climate-related policies that ensure the equitable inclusion of people with lower incomes?

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

By Gabriela Rutkowska (PL)

Introduction

The European Union has set a goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. But what does that even mean? It means that it aims for an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, which is written down in the European Green Deal. That deal is legally binding because of the existence of the European Climate Law. Looks like everything is perfectly planned out, so what exactly is the issue everyone talks about? A lot of strategies and plans made by higher bodies do not include low-income communities, which happen to be affected the most by climate change. Two-thirds of Europeans agree that the transition to a low-carbon economy can only be successful if socioeconomic inequalities are addressed at the same time. According to the World Bank, climate change could push another 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. Some of the most serious effects of climate change include hunger, health issues (such as respiratory illnesses and vector-borne diseases), forcing people to move (and making some of them refugees at the same time), affecting security and increasing competition for resources. As we can observe, the effects are relevant in both social and economic aspects.

The infographic shows that we are all in a way at risk of climate change

Key Terms & Concepts

  • Climate neutrality: Climate neutrality means achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The aim is to balance the produced emissions with those naturally absorbed by the planet.
  • Greenhouse gas emissions: Greenhouse gas emissions are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases. They usually come from, for instance, fossil fuels like gasoline or from materials used to create electricity.
  • Mitigation and adaptation policy: EU policy on climate change differentiates between mitigation policy, which aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and adaptation policy, which refers to the adjustment to expected consequences of climate change in order to moderate harm. 
  • Vulnerable communities: Vulnerable communities are groups of people who are generally more prone to be affected by climate change. Amongst them are children and pregnant women, older adults, persons with disabilities, chronic medical conditions and, of course, people from lower-income communities.

Key Actors & Stakeholders

The European Commission

The European Union, and more specifically the European Commission, is responsible for ensuring that all Member States comply with European law; what comes with that are the goals of the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law. The special department of the Commission that deals with the issue is the Directorate-General for climate action (DG-CLIMA). Moreover, as the creator of the mentioned deal, the EU should make sure that all communities are included in the climate-neutrality journey and that the focus is also put on those that come from lower-income backgrounds.

Member States

Member States implement and adapt their national legislation to EU law. They are in charge of ratifying international treaties and applying the EU’s Directives, as well as creating their own national and regional laws. All Member States have adopted the European Climate Law, rendering it legally binding.

Global organisations

Global organisations, such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, World Health Organization and Greenpeace are responsible for spreading awareness on, inter alia, the topic of climate change and work resolutions and projects that can help to tackle the issue.

European vulnerable citizens

Certain individuals are more vulnerable to climate change, such as low-income communities, minorities and discriminated ethnicities, outdoor workers, children elderly people and many others.

Key Conflicts

Balancing the need for environmental protection and climate action has both social and economic impacts on low-income communities. Certain measures taken by governments to reduce fossil fuels production have a significant influence on poorer families whose income is related to price increases that constitute the majority of their income. Another problem is the rising costs coming with climate-related measures. For instance, some ideas revolve around increasing plane ticket prices. By doing so, the lower class people are less able to exercise their freedom of movement within the EU. Having said that, a study by the EIB has shown that the majority of people would be willing to accept a higher income tax to help lower class people to adapt to climate policies. 

Secondly, the distribution of political power in shaping environmental policies and their impact on different socio-economic groups is small and unequal. Industries with a lot of political weight, for instance, the fossil fuel and aviation industry, or the agricultural industry, as we can see from the farmer protests at the moment, are not necessarily those that will lobby for climate-change friendly policy. Low-income people have a lot less political power to make themselves and their interests heard.

Additionally, there are major disparities in access to resources and technology required for sustainable living and participation in climate action efforts. Even though the EU is one of the most developed places on earth, there are still people who do not have access to the internet and technology, and, what comes with that, to important resources and information regarding climate change. In 2023, countries in the European Union with the lowest percentage of people without access to the internet were Hungary (80,3 %)  and Bulgaria (80 %).  

Lastly, displacement of people may lead to troubles with finding housing and employment, increasing the risk of poverty. Enforcing certain  climate policies might significantly affect certain industries leading to potential job losses and economic challenges for specific regions. It is predicted that in just seven years around 3.8% of working hours worldwide (equivalent to 136 million full-time jobs) could be lost due to the high temperatures caused by global warming. Zhe ones affected the most by this change will be the outdoor workers, who often come from lower-income households.

Measures in Place

The European Green Deal (EGD)

European Green Deal was launched in 2019 by the European Commission, outlining policies to guide the EU’s journey towards climate neutrality by 2050. The main goals of the European Green Deal are achieving net-zero gas emissions by 2050, economic growth decoupled from resource use and, for this topic most relevant, no person and no place left behind. The EGD has been criticised for lacking measures targeting social inequality. 

European Pillar of Social Rights

The European Pillar of Social Rights is a social ‘rulebook’ of the European Commission that sets out twenty objectives for a fair and inclusive Europe. The Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights spells out how these objectives should be achieved. The JTM contributes to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in the context of climate policy.

Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)

Part of the European Green Deal Investment Plan, the JTM is dedicated to the funding of a just and fair green transition. Having said that, much of the available funding is allocated to other social impacts of climate change, such as employment. Social class is of secondary importance in the JTM. 

Social Climate Fund

Though not yet implemented, the Social Climate Fund is a proposal by the European Commission that was created to specifically address vulnerable households. It is intended to mobilise at least €86.7 billion over the 2026-2032 period. Member States will have the option to spend parts of the SCF  on temporary direct income support.

European Climate and Health Observatory

This knowledge sharing platform was – established to provide easy access to a wide range of relevant publications, tools, websites and other resources related to climate change and human health, helping the EU medical sector to adapt to new, climate-related, challenges.

Food for Thought

It is often being promoted that average individuals should practise sustainability by, for instance, using reusable items, buying better-quality clothes and abandoning the so-called fast-fashion and many others. How do you think that relates to low-income households considering that these types of solutions are very often more expensive and what  are the ways to tackle such problems? Furthermore, it is proven that  work productivity slows down once temperatures go above 24-26°C. What can the EU countries do to ensure protection of their outdoor workers from such temperatures? How can the transition into a green future be both sustainable and fair? 

Further Research