1. Renewables Grid Initiative
  2. Publications
  3. Press releases
  4. Detail

RGI supports WWF’s analysis of the local plans submitted for the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and the resulting recommendations to the EU Commission

A majority of the 14 local plans submitted so far for the JTF of the EU contradict the commitments in the Paris Agreement according to an assessment tool developed by WWF - an RGI Member - that measures their quality, inclusivity, transparency, and alignment with the climate targets.

EU’s Just Transition Fund (JTF) was launched in June 2021 with the aim of supporting heavily polluting industries in their transition towards a green and sustainable future. RGI supports this European initiative as well as the advancement of local plans which benefit from it. While WWF, one of RGI's Members, welcomes this initiative, concerns have been raised regarding challenges impacting the process of funds allocation as well as the quality of some plans. Therefore, WWF has developed an assessment tool with 14 scorecards that measures different aspects of the plans’ quality and analyses their performance against 10 just transition principles.

The observations resulting from the assessment aim to help improve both the submitted plans and the fund allocation towards a truly just transition. While some of the 14 plans submitted so far and examined by WWF demonstrated promising practices, for instance in the field of circular economy, most of them revealed rather disappointing truths which partially contradict the very aim of the fund:

  • Nine out of 14 plans foresee the use of fossil gas past 2035
  • Eight out of 14 plans allow the use of coal or oil shale past 2030
  • These plans contradict the commitments taken in the Paris Agreement
  • The 2030 targets for energy efficiency and renewables are disregarded in some of the plans
  • Four of the plans even foresee investments in new fossil fuel infrastructure
  • None of the plans take Polluter Pays Principle into consideration when mentioning investment decisions

Based on the rather alarming results of this analysis, RGI joins WWF and other eight signing organisations in issuing a recommendation letter to the EU Commission. These recommendations shall be taken into consideration by the Commission when approving TJTPs as it is our strong belief that EU funding should only support clean, sustainable, participatory, and socially responsible plans and practices that are fully aligned with the EU’s climate goals and targets towards the energy transition.

The full recommendation letter to the EU Commission as well as WWF's assessment tool can be accessed via the links provided below.

Signing Organisations

Contact

Dr. Andrzej Ceglarz
Director - Energy Systems

Load more
t: +49 30 233211014
andrzej[at]renewables-grid.eu
Back

RGI gratefully acknowledges the EU LIFE funding support:

EU LIFE funding support Logo

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the LIFE Programme. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.