‘Greening’ Europe’s Economy

26 October 2009:

The themes of energy, the economy and climate change are brought together in a new report from Eurofound, Greening the European economy: Responses and initiatives by Member States and social partners. The findings of the report reflect the extent to which environmental concerns have become a key element of policymaking and illustrate the consensus that exists between trade unions, employers and governments regarding the importance of the ‘green agenda’.

The report shows that across Europe, national governments and the social partners are keen to maximise the job creation potential of this new area, and stimulate economic recovery, reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well as develop alternative energy sources. However, the report goes on to point out that the ‘green economy’ is not a short-term, quick-fix solution that will help countries emerge rapidly from the economic crisis. Changing Europe’s energy infrastructure, limiting carbon emissions, while simultaneously maintaining competitiveness and ensuring that workers’ skills remain up to date, needs careful, long-term planning.

Going for green growth

The European Commission’s European Economic Recovery Plan, published in November 2008 recommends investment in green measures to move towards a low-carbon economy, limit climate change, promote energy security and create new ‘green-collar’ jobs. In addition, many governments see the green agenda as a tool for revitalising Europe’s economy, and as a means of job creation. Most recovery packages launched at Member State level include a green element. Such packages may include subsidies for refurbishing insulation and heating systems (as in Austria, Ireland and Lithuania), the use of tax credits to encourage households to invest in alternative energy and insulation (in Belgium), and investment in new technologies, such as carbon capture (as in Norway and the UK).

Social partner responses

While social partners from both sides of industry have at least in principle embraced the green agenda, differences are evident in the approaches of employer and employee representatives Employer organisations are more focused on maintaining competitiveness and are more likely to be driven by the requirements of compliance – in fact, employer initiatives are often embedded in general corporate social responsibility strategies. By contrast, trade union organisations are more likely to engage in lobbying and campaigning, targeting governments and the business community.