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European Green Deal

The European Green Deal is the European Sustainable Growth Strategy. It is a package of policy initiatives aimed at enabling European citizens and businesses to benefit from sustainable green transition, realising the goal of no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 in the EU and decoupling economic growth from resource use. It is about protecting fragile ecosystems, investing in research and innovation, and improving the well-being of people via a path that is just and socially fair, leaving no individual or region behind. 

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Eurofound research

Eurofound’s remit is centred around research to improve living and working conditions in the EU, which is at the heart of the EU policy priorities. This work includes topics linked with the Green Deal, like innovation and job creation, restructuring, skills and training of workers, the digital age, work sustainability, quality of life and well-being, among others.

How the Green Deal links in with Eurofound’s work

Research and innovation will be key in driving the change needed to achieve the goals set out in the Green Deal. This also means supporting people via a new Just Transition Mechanism. This will focus on the social and economic costs of the transition in the regions most affected. It will also facilitate new job opportunities, offer support to companies, as well as job search and re-skilling assistance for jobseekers likely to lose employment in the transition. Some of these topics are already covered in Eurofound research and findings could potentially feed into the work of the Just Transition Platform.

Restructuring at regional level

Eurofound’s European Jobs Monitor (EJM) monitors structural change in European labour markets, analysing where jobs are being lost and where they are being created. It analyses shifts in the employment structure in terms of occupation and sector, both at Member State and regional level. Recent analysis takes the region rather than the Member States as the main unit of analysis. It shows that a growth of within-country inequality often has a strong regional dimension and places a focus on regionally unbalanced growth.

Complementing this research, the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) has been monitoring the employment impact of large-scale restructuring events since 2002 in the EU. It also examines the impact on working conditions. 

Future of manufacturing

Proposed by the European Parliament and at the request of the Commission, Eurofound carried out a pilot project from 2015 to 2019 to explore the Future of Manufacturing in Europe, including employment implications looking at the number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile and task content. The future orientation also included quantitative estimates of the employment implications of the Paris Climate Agreement, large increases in global tariffs and radical automation.

Surveys informing the policy debate

Both Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) and European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) are carried out every four to five years across Europe and cover a wide range of topics that help to inform the policy process.

The EQLS examines both the objective circumstances of the lives of European citizens and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. The EQLS indicators include environmental and social aspects of progress. This work supports the policymaking process at EU level on many aspects associated with how people live and work, including what makes capital cities the best places to live, and exploring whether rural Europe is being left behind on financial security, connectedness and life satisfaction.

The EWCS aims to provide a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. The findings draw attention to the range and scope of actions that policy actors could develop to address the challenges facing Europe today – employment levels, prolonging working life and making work sustainable, increasing the participation of women, developing productivity and innovation, and adapting to the digital and environmental challenges.

Key outputs

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With the European Green Deal, the EU is setting in motion a set of policies and measures aimed at preventing and alleviating the effects of climate change. The main objective...

6 July 2021
Publication
Research report
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The pilot project The Future of Manufacturing in Europe is an explorative and future-oriented study. It explores the future adoption of some key game-changing technologies and how this adoption can...

10 April 2019
Publication
Research report

EU context

The vital goal of European integration – improving living and working conditions and achieving upward convergence – has to be achieved in a new global setting, and in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic which is the most severe economic and social shock in living memory. The underlying long-term drivers of change remain the same, however: demography, technological development, globalisation and environmental challenges.

The Paris Climate Agreement was adopted in December 2015 by 195 countries within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It represents an international commitment to mitigate impacts of climate change worldwide.  

Under the new European Commission, which took office in December 2019, came the unveiling of the European Green Deal. It outlines three concrete actions aligned with the Paris objective of limiting global warming this century to 1.5 °C: 

  • striving to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050: zero net carbon emissions and cutting pollution, affordable and secure energy, smarter transport, and high-quality food
  • a Just Transition Fund for workers who might be impacted in the process, which will leverage public and private funds, including with the help of the European Investment Bank
  • a sustainable Europe investment plan, giving investors confidence to make long-term decisions on environmentally responsible projects, leading to new jobs, a cleaner environment and a better quality of life.

The Green Deal will encompass legislative changes in different sectors of the economy, including transport, energy, agriculture and construction, and industries such as steel, cement, information and communications technologies (ICT), textiles and chemicals. The first major step was the Commission’s adoption of the proposal for the first-ever European Climate Law in March 2020. 

On 28 April 2020, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement on the role of the Green Deal in the economic recovery following COVID-19. Her message is clear: ‘The European Green Deal is an agenda for transforming our economy, to make it more competitive and improve our quality of life.’ Calling it the ‘motor for the recovery’, the Green Deal is an opportunity to rebuild European economies differently following this current crisis, making them more resilient and leaving a better place for our children.

Eurofound’s work in this area links in with the Commission’s 2019–2024 priority on a European Green Deal. 

 

European Industrial Relations Dictionary 

Eurofound expert(s)

John Hurley

John Hurley is a senior research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He took up the role of research manager in February 2012. He is responsible for the European...

Senior research manager,
Employment research unit
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Tina Weber is a senior research manager in Eurofound’s Working Life unit. Having previously shared her time between the Employment and Working Life units, her work has focused on...

Senior research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (29)

This policy brief analyses trends in human development, labour market participation, digital adoption and environmental sustainability among the G20 members to assess the EU’s standing within the group. It also investigates whether G20 members are converging in respect of these dimensions.

26 November 2024

This Eurofound research paper explores the decarbonisation of residential heating through the adoption of heat pumps, a key component in the EU’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Heat pumps offer a highly efficient alternative to traditional heating systems, leveraging renewable energy

30 September 2024

Multistakeholder partnerships are essential to ensure that the green transition is not only environmentally sound and economically viable but also socially just. This policy brief investigates how relevant actors (national and regional authorities, the social partners and civil society organisations

02 September 2024

Workers will experience the effects of climate change in many ways: job insecurity, changes to their work tasks and responsibilities, and changes in their workplaces that may involve different work practices and the development of new activities and products. Climate change risks are associated with

01 July 2024

In this report, we provide projections of how the Fit for 55 policy package may affect the sectoral and occupational structure of employment in the EU by 2030, and the impacts across different regions and countries.

25 October 2023

В настоящия доклад се разглежда динамиката на екологичните резултати на държавите — членки на ЕС, и степента, в която различията в техните резултати са намалели от началото на 2000-те години. Докладът е резултат от сътрудничеството между Eurofound и Европейската агенция по околна среда, което

03 August 2023

This report investigates the involvement of social partners in the just transition to a climate-neutral economy, with a particular focus on the territorial just transition plans. These plans aim to support the regions most negatively affected by the just transition by assisting workers to retrain

19 July 2023

Преходът на ЕС към неутрална по отношение на климата икономика не изисква нищо друго освен чиста индустриална революция. В настоящия доклад се разглеждат потенциалните социално-икономически последици от такава фундаментална промяна за различните европейски региони и групи от населението, като се

19 June 2023

On request by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Eurofound prepared a background paper as a basis for the discussion at the informal Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) meeting on 3-4 May 2023. The paper outlines some of the key challenges

04 May 2023

This paper presents an analytical summary of current academic and policy literature on the impact of climate change and policies to manage the transition to a carbon-neutral economy on four key domains: employment, working conditions, social dialogue and living conditions. It maps the main empirical

12 April 2023

Online resources results (11)

Climate change objectives and decarbonisation measures are vital for the future of Europe. But how will these objectives impact employment and the labour market? In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Senior Research Manager John Hurley about new

22 November 2023

Presentation by Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras, Research Manager, Eurofound. 2-3 October 2023, EMCO meeting hosted by the Spanish Presidency, Madrid.

9 October 2023
Image of a group of cyclists crossing at a street junction.

Facing up to the social realities of the green transition

The European Green Deal binds the European Union to becoming a climate-neutral territory by 2050. As part of this, the European Climate Law (June 2021) commits the EU to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% (compared with 1990 levels) by 2030. To achieve this, a fundamental transformati

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Measures to lessen the impact of the inflation and energy crisis on citizens

As governments across the EU continue to implement policies to support citizens and businesses in the face of rising food and energy prices caused by the COVID-19 crisis and intensified by the war in Ukraine, this article summarises the policy responses as reported in Eurofound’s EU PolicyWatch

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EU labour markets resilient despite energy-cost related restructuring

Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas fr

The rise in cost of living and energy poverty: Social impact and policy responses. 14 October 2022, Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers (EPSCO). Presentation by Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director, Eurofound.

14 October 2022
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First responses to cushion the impact of inflation on citizens

Although the worldwide pandemic situation had already disrupted supply chains and triggered increases in energy and food prices in 2021, the situation deteriorated in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Governments throughout the EU had already started to intervene with policy measures in a

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Policies to support EU companies affected by the war in Ukraine

As the war in Ukraine has intensified, the cost of food, raw materials and energy prices, already high due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued to rise substantially. Ahead of coordinated action at EU level, as agreed by EU energy ministers on 9 September 2022, governments across the EU have

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Twin transition and pandemic challenge Eurofound to increase expertise, strengthen partnerships, expand reach, says new Director

Eurofound welcomed Ivailo Kalfin to his new role as Executive Director on 1 June. After one month in the job, he reflects on the challenges facing the EU, how they will impact on the work of Eurofound and his priorities for shaping the Agency over the next five years.

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Policy responses from governments and social partners to the COVID-19 pandemic

EU Member States acted swiftly in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing measures aimed at cushioning the impact of the crisis on society, the economy and the labour market. In some countries, policies targeted businesses and employers directly; elsewhere, employees and self-employed


Blogs results (9)

Not only do we need appropriate policy measures to drive the shift to a carbon-neutral economy, we also need sound policy to ensure no one is left behind – we need to ensure a just transition.

2 May 2024

‘Building back better’ is not just an empty slogan – we need the construction sector to help us achieve our climate targets. Eurofound research reveals that construction is where the Fit for 55 climate policy package will generate the most net new employment.

4 December 2023
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The dawn of 2022 brought muted optimism to a Europe beginning to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the progress of vaccination programmes worldwide brought hope. Government and EU support during the pandemic had kept unemployment at bay, averting the widescale collapse of businesses. In step wi

19 December 2022
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Rising energy prices are putting more people under increased financial pressure and at greater risk of energy poverty. In this data story, we take a closer look at the data from the fifth round of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey to explore the extent of the issue and the threat of energy

3 August 2022
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The answer is yes – potentially. Assessing the environmental benefits of telework is a complex task, because any move to work from home involves a series of changes in individuals’ daily lives and activities, as well as company-level decisions, that may positively or negatively influence the level o

23 June 2022
Image of people waiting for tram in city street and man cycling on cycle path

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions have caused energy prices to soar. Governments seeking to alleviate the negative impacts of price increases on households have introduced energy subsidies and VAT reductions for electricity, gas and fuel. While such policies may be needed

10 June 2022
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The European Pillar of Social Rights states that ‘everyone has the right to affordable long-term care services of good quality, in particular home-care and community-based services’. Taking a step to make this principle a reality, the European Commission is currently preparing a European Care Strate

5 May 2022
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When it comes to Europe’s COVID-19 recovery and its aspiration to build back a more resilient society, the so-called green and digital transitions have dominated EU policy discussions. And as Eurofound made preparations for the 2022 Foundation Forum – a unique occasion for high-level debate on the s

11 March 2022
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At the very outset of its mandate, the new European Commission presented the European Green Deal, establishing the objective of becoming the first climate-neutral bloc in the world by 2050. The initiative emphasises the seriousness which the European Commission places on the climate and biodiversity

21 February 2020
Upcoming publications results (1)

This report reviews the quality of the national social partners’ involvement in the implementation of the reforms and investments shaping the digital and green transition in the context of national policymaking. These reforms and investments stem mainly from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

March 2025
Data results (2)

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