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Written by Alex Wilson (2nd edition, updated on 21.06.2022).
On 14 July 2021 the European Commission adopted the ‘fit for 55’ package, a set of legislative proposals to meet the new EU objective of a minimum 55 % reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. The fit for 55 package is part of the Commission’s European Green Deal, which aims to set the EU firmly on the path towards net zero GHG emissions (climate neutrality) by 2050.
The fit for 55 package includes a regulation establishing a new social climate fund (SCF). The aim of the SCF is to help vulnerable households, micro-businesses and transport users meet the costs of the green energy transition in the buildings and road transport sector. The SCF is designed to counter the additional costs that vulnerable consumers may face when the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive is revised to cover these two sectors, as proposed in the fit for 55 package
The SCF aims to provide over €72 billion in EU funding over the 2025-2032 period, to be paid for mainly by ETS credits in the buildings and road transport sectors. The SCF funds will need to be matched by equivalent social climate funding from Member States, which must prepare social climate plans. As a new budget line to be financed from EU ‘own resources’, the SCF will require amendments to the Own Resources Decision and the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework.
The file was referred to the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and to the Committee for Employment and Social Affairs, which produced a joint report in May 2022. While the amendments were voted in plenary in the June I session, the final plenary vote was delayed due to political disagreements over the wider Fit for 55 package.
Versions
- June 2022: Social climate fund: Fit for 55 package (2nd edition)
| Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Social Climate Fund |
| Committee responsible: | Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) | COM(2021) 568 14.7.2021 |
| Rapporteur: | David Casa and Esther De Lange (EPP) | 2021/0206(COD) |
| Shadow rapporteurs: | Klára Dobrev; Petar Vitanov (S&D); Ondřej Knotek ; Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew); Sara Matthieu; Katrin Langensiepen (Greens/EFA); Dominique Bild; Joëlle Mélin (ID); Andrey Slabakov; Beata Szydło (ECR); Leila Chaibi; Petros Kokkalis (The Left) | Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) |
| Next steps expected: First-reading vote in plenary |
Listen to policy podcast ‘Social climate fund: Fit for 55 package‘ on YouTube.
[…] Fund aims at helping regions most affected by the transition away from fossil fuels. Finally, the Social Climate Fund (part of the ‘fit for 55’ package) should go some way towards helping the most […]