C 275/102
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
18.7.2022
1.6.
The EU regulatory framework needs to ensure that the most competitive businesses in the coming decades will be the frontrunners in sustainable and low carbon business models.
The EESC is therefore of the firm opinion that regulations should pave the way for the development and market uptake of new technologies, including demand-side measures to create lead markets and incentivise consumption of low carbon products.
Furthermore, all legislative proposals put forward within the framework of Fit for 55 should undergo a competitiveness check in line with SDG principles so that the full implications on enterprise are well understood.
1.7.
The EESC firmly believes that specific attention must be given to the economic sectors where there is a strong participation of MSMEs.
MSMEs have the potential to accelerate innovation in products and solutions to decarbonise the European economy.
1.8.
There is a strong need for policy coherence, recognising the interlinked nature of the climate and biodiversity crises.
Reductions in energy and material consumption, as per Circular Economy, will complement new technologies.
Sectoral strategies and funding models should reflect Fit for 55, for example ensuring landowners/land managers/farmers are compensated for natural carbon storage in soils and that environmentally damaging subsidies are stopped.
1.9.
It is essential to clearly and honestly communicate the costs and the benefits for taking the drastic and extensive actions needed to reach climate neutrality for 2050.
These changes will affect all sectors and regions and the benefits may not be immediately felt.
Ensuring broad support will require an unprecedented level of understanding and engagement from all members of society.
2.
Reason for and structure of this opinion 2.1.
The objective of this opinion is to provide the EESC’s overall perspective on the Fit for 55 package proposed by the Commission on 14 December.
It stresses the need for the package to deliver a socially fair, competitive and green transition.
The EESC will provide specific opinions for all relevant legislative proposals of the package.
2.2.
The EESC insists that the Fit for 55 package needs to be linked to the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals that the EESC has supported in earlier opinions.
The SDGs are especially useful as they are global and cover not only the pressing climate issue behind the Commission package but also other necessary goals for economic and social sustainability that have to be fulfilled for the package to be successful.
The opinion below is therefore presented along the lines of the three main aims of the UN SDGs.
3.
Core principles — Specific views of the EESC on the Commission document A socially fair transition 3.1.
In its resolution on the Conference on the Future of Europe, the EESC proposed ‘a new narrative for Europe that ties Europe’s distant and recent past to the present, and provides a vision for the future built on cooperation across borders, strengthening the links between the people of Europe, and rooted in values of solidarity, social justice, inter-generational cooperation, gender equality, sustainable prosperity, and just green and digital transitions.
It is imperative to leverage public support for these values, in order to re-think our growth and governance models towards sustainability, build a more equal society and place civil society organisations at the centre of this reconstruction and recovery’ (1).
The EESC strongly believes that a well-designed implementation of the Fit for 55 package will contribute to making this new narrative a reality.
3.2.
The EESC has also stated that focus is needed on a fair and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that paves the way to a more inclusive society, builds long-term competitiveness and creates an environment of collaboration, taking full account of the intertwined social, economic, democratic, demographic and climate crises in EU Member States, the
(1)
A New Narrative for Europe — The EESC resolution on the Conference on the Future of Europe, point 2.1 (OJ C 286, 16.7.2021, p. 1).