A seminar on “Fit for 55” – how can the Climate Social Fund promote economic growth and create green jobs?” was held from 28 August to 1 September in Baia Mare and Sighetu / Romania. It was organised by NBH (Nell-Breuning-Haus) and EZA and funded by the European Union.
“Fit for 55” describes the aim of the EU to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The establishment of the Climate Social Fund is a building block of the “Fit for 55” strategy. The Climate Social Fund will be used by, among others, member states, to fund measures and investments to support financially weaker (micro)enterprises and to help them negotiate the impact on prices of an emissions trading system for the building, road transport and various sectors.
50 representatives of workers' organisations from Belgium, Germany, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova gathered input from trade unions on the Green Deal: ideas, concepts, views, information on the status quo and examples of transformation.
Important issues covered in the seminar
Economic imbalances in EU countries are still obstructing and slowing down ecological change with a social and human face. This imbalance is impacting the south-eastern and eastern European nations in particular, where an awareness of this socio-economic restructuring is fairly minimal among the population. Even if the situation changes (e.g. in the context of the current droughts). The dialogue between the social partners and politicians is progressing extremely slowly, notably in the EU member states in south-eastern Europe. The social partners have a duty to shape structural change in a process that is socially responsible, not to disappoint people and to raise public awareness of environmental protection and climate change.
This seminar is particularly important today
Multiple crises and changes including new wars, migration, end-globalisation, environmental and climate disasters are leading to tensions in the social and societal sphere. The European Green Deal aims to support and accelerate the ecological restructuring in the EU countries. Against this backdrop, jobs, companies, social partners and the political structure are under considerable pressure.
Themes of the seminar
Manfred Maresch (Office Manager, Bedburg District Office, Germany) gave a talk on the Rhenish mining area.
The Lusatian and central German coal mining areas are located in eastern Germany, and western Germany is home to the Rhenish coal mining area. Approx. 8,000 workers are currently employed in the Rhineland region. Energy-intensive industries employ roughly 50,000 people whose jobs are under threat if these companies fail to switch to renewable energy sources. This problem is far greater than the phasing-out of coal itself. We provide comprehensive information to unions to help them find solutions with the people and companies on the ground to achieve the transformation with no job losses, while maintaining social standards. Our objective is to make visible the participation in the transformation in companies, to strengthen participation and democracy and to highlight the strategic objectives of the unions.
Dr. Manfred Körber (NBH) presented examples of this transformation in two video interviews and a video about the Rhineland region. The dismantling of the former Carolus Magnus coal mine in Übach-Palenberg was carried out over a period of approx. 30 years. The main administration building is the only structure still standing today, which houses the Carolus Magnus Center. New companies and start-ups have moved in and have created new jobs. New companies also arrived in the area around this site, which provided jobs to replace those lost in the coal mining industry. The former spoil heaps have been transformed into green recreational areas and the water tower has been preserved as an industrial monument.
The Rhineland region is undergoing some major changes. Examples of the transformation include the Blausteinsee lake as a large local recreation area with sports, bathing and catering areas, the planning of new lake landscapes and renaturation for leisure and tourism, the creation of the solar park in Herzogenrath, parks and catering in Hambach. “Allianz für Transformation” (alliance for transformation) and the “Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier” (future agency for the Rhenish mining area) are responsible, among others, for numerous transformations. For example, the “Euregio H2 Center”, the “Battery Launch Center NRW” or “Schophoven – Urban Development”.
Florin Hossu (Romanian trade union Cartel Alfa Marmures) on the Romanian transformation.
A negative example: copper, gold and other precious and rare metals are found in Maramures. The mining was very profitable for the mining companies, and outdated mining facilities were gradually closed down as early as 1996, with the cooperation of the unions. The government had promised benefits, but failed to keep its promises and, although it was not the EU that closed the mines, to date, it has not agreed to the granting of a subsidy. One mining company was therefore forced to cut costs and cyanide was used to mine gold. A major environmental disaster occurred in 2000, when the cyanide water was discharged into settling tanks as highly toxic waste. This process extensively poisoned and destroyed the groundwater and the surrounding area, which resulted in a major environmental catastrophe. Maramures is currently experiencing a drought, which has caused the formation of contaminated dust that has penetrated residential areas and is hazardous to health. The closure of the mines and the building of the settling tank were not carried out by professional, qualified operators. Many jobs have been lost, and the environmental problem has still not been solved. The mines still operating in Romania should only be closed if other employment is available in the region.
Dr. Gusat Dorel (Universität Nord Baia Mare, Rumänien) advocates a type of mining 2.0 in Romania. 38 elements are currently found in Maramures that could be mined in a new mining operation, including, gold, copper, gallium, aluminium, nickel and lithium. New technologies could be used for mining in an environmentally friendly process. The important factor here is the extraction of the raw materials, the utilisation of the materials and the production of end products from such materials, which will secure jobs in the area. Additional employment opportunities could be created through the training and retraining of mine workers along with training for new professions. The settling tanks also contain rare earth elements which, once extracted, can help eliminate the environmental damage and restore the natural environment. However, the funding for this transformation must be clarified, new technologies must be developed, local people must be involved and patents developed to become less reliant on the global raw material markets. However, the government must first release all the details of this environmental disaster, which it is currently prohibited from doing by law. Nevertheless, there is no reason not to start this transformation and to initiate a broad discussion.
Ioan Bud (Go Green Resources Association, Baia Mare) reported on the quality of life and the environment.
The primary consideration is development, and environmental protection takes second place. The development of technology, processes and also increasing human awareness for an ecological transition will almost inevitably focus on environmental protection. If this does not happen, the environment will suffer, social standards will decline, causing frustration and even indifference, and the quality of life will deteriorate. One example is the pollution of two rivers in Romania. Both rivers would be clean today if an organisation or company had been responsible for monitoring pollution levels; however, indifference prevailed as no such agencies existed.
Miladin Sekulić (UFTUM, Montenegro) and Dipl.Ing. Aleksandar Zagorov (PODKREPA; Bulgaria) provided some input on the subject.
Montenegro is a small country which is making great efforts to achieve transformation. Energy is mainly supplied by a mining company which can only be closed if alternative forms of energy are available first and new jobs are created as a result.
New projects will only be viable with the help of private investors, expertise and financial resources from the EU. The government has provided €8 million to provide new forms of energy.
The mines are very important in Bulgaria, and the interruption of mining activity will have a detrimental effect on sustainability. The state will invest €120 million in the unions to make the mining areas sustainable and to improve social opportunities for the people in the region. These transformations must be designed alongside European projects. The unions have urged governments not to fail in their duty regarding the Green Deal, so that when mines were closed, we made sure that staff were trained and placed in new jobs.
Silviu Palagi (Maramures Border Police Union and IPA, Romania), Arsenije Miketic (UFTUM, Montenegro) and Michael Mertens (Deputy Federal Chairman of GdP (police union), Germany)
Climate change and the energy transition are also major issues for the German police force. The energy supply is interrupted in the event of a natural disaster such as the one that occurred in the Ahrtal valley, which caused power cuts, and police force communications came to an abrupt halt. Climate change and transformation are currently putting a strain on society, with fears for the future and the risk of job losses. The police are finding themselves at the sharp end of the resulting social tensions. Those seeking political asylum today could be displaced by future climate refugees tomorrow. The police themselves are part of society and are also confronting their own future e-mobility.
The Green Deal is not yet a pressing concern for the police union in Montenegro; the union was formed recently, and the members are already raising complaints regarding staff shortages, low pay and a lack of equipment they need to carry out their duties. The union is so busy dealing with the situation that concerns over climate issues have become irrelevant.
The visit to the REMSI SA flotation and settling tank in Bozanta demonstrated how irresponsible mining can ruin the environment for years afterwards and is detrimental to the quality of life.
Findings / consequences
- The transition to green jobs must be socially acceptable.
- Social dialogue is crucial to achieve the objectives set in Fit for 55.
- The transformation is also a lower priority in Belgium. A decision to phase out nuclear power taken in 2015 has been reversed, and Belgian governments have done too little to promote renewable forms of energy to date
- We are at the end of an ecological, economic and political era. A second geopolitical bloc exists east of the EU.
- The status quo is characterised by the start of end-globalisation. This also has an impact on the Green Deal, social cohesion and the jobs of the future.
- In terms of “Fit for 55,” the question is whether capitalism can be green. To what extent can capitalism solve the ecological, social and political crises of the present?
- Working conditions influence how democracy is experienced and lived. – The danger of National Socialist politics and autocratic forms of government is also increasing faced with the fear of job losses and social tensions in the context of the Green Deal, climate change, migration and economic changes.
- The Green Deal holds the promise of many thousands of new jobs. This will require substantially greater investment in all areas of eastern Europe. However, this demand must also be heard in Brussels.
- Rising temperatures in the EU are twice as high as in the rest of the world. Houses not only require heating, but also cooling, and energy prices must fall to enable this. However, the social partners have every opportunity to channel the negative effects of climate change in a positive direction.
- It is not enough to merely abandon old technologies. Transformation must focus on jobs. Transformation must not be left to the private sector alone. Governmental or semi-governmental organisations are vital in this respect and must listen to people during the development processes.
- Trade unions are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the future.
- Unions must work harder to raise awareness in companies to emphasise that we cannot return to the old days. Climate change is here to stay, and there is no alternative to transformation.
As this topic is so crucial, an additional seminar will be held in March 2025 in the Plovdiv region (near the Maritsa Iztok Complex) to enable the people in the region to participate in a similar way to what took place in Maramures.