Study on Energy policy and the labour market: consequences for employment in regions undergoing energy transitions

The different legislative proposals in the 'Fit for 55' package mean a dramatic shift of employment in certain regions, either dependent on raw materials for power generation (such as coal mining), directly linked to its generation (power plants, refineries, etc.) or with carbon-intensive industries that are forced out of business. Given the increasingly urgent need to speed up the green transition, the study aims at understanding the consequences for employment related to the interaction between energy policy and the labour market.

The objectives of the study are threefold: 

1. Provide an overview of relevant cases with policy successes and failures 
2. Develop deeper understanding of the interplay between energy and employment policies, and how they interact with the broader regional context in industrial relations, economic, political, and social matters. 
3. Provide policy recommendations for a just/fair transition  

The study will examine several cases where these transitions away from carbon-intensive industries and/or raw material/power generation are taking or have taken place at a regional level. The report will pay special attention to the economic shifts and changes in employment structure, counting at least one successful and one unsuccessful case of just transition, understood as one where employment was generally preserved by transferring it to more sustainable jobs.

Client: The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Project coordinator: Magdalena Wiśniewska

Experts: Agnieszka Kulesa, Oskar Chmiel, Izabela Marcinkowska, Waldemar Milewicz, Tomas Jeck