Workshop on Energy Justice, European Values and the European Green Deal

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Abstract

This workshop highlights the importance of the European Green Deal through the lens of energy justice and European values.  

Climate change and the recent geopolitical circumstances have created a new urgency for the energy transition, which has become a more pressing focus of the European Commission and national Member States than ever before. The energy transition constitutes a shift to a more digitalized, decentralised and decarbonised energy sector, while safeguarding security of energy supply and the protection of the vulnerable energy consumers in the EU. The urgency of a modernised energy sector has been reflected in the EU Green Deal and Fit for 55 Proposal, while its far-reaching socio-economic character has been highlighted in Recommendations of the European Commission including on issues such as energy poverty. Nevertheless, important questions remain with regard to how a just and inclusive EU energy transition can be accelerated and safeguarded under current circumstances. The emerging, yet undefined, notion of energy justice can aid to guide energy decision-making in this effort.  

Two  discussion rounds 

The first discussion round addresses the challenges of the current energy market design in the context of the REPowerEU plan including structural issues of affordability of energy services. It will be discussed what is the role of the state and of the market in ensuring the affordability of energy services and which value trade offs can be made. Should the market be reformed and if so how? What would certain choices mean for other EU values such as security and sustainability? 

The second discussion round addresses potential approaches for financing the European Green Deal, such as a green golden rule that excludes net green public investment from the fiscal indicators used to measure compliance with the EU’s fiscal rules and the creation of new pan-European investment funds (similar to the NextGenerationEU facility created during the corona crisis). 

Jean Monnet Center 

This is the first of a series of workshops of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence for European Values (CoEV) at Tilburg University. The CoEV focuses on six key areas, which are priorities for the European Commission until 2024 and is based on the European Values Study. 

The workshop is organised in collaboration with the Academic Collaborative Center Climate & Energy and co-funded by the European Union.