Not just a matter of money

Mitigating climate change means taking action. The upshot for many people is that they have to spend money – and they are concerned that they can’t. In addition, the measures this implies are often cumbersome. They alter accustomed habits, and while they are carried out building sites abound – at home, on the railways and on the road. Moreover, climate action does not affect everyone equally. Not everyone can act at all, for instance if they depend upon decisions taken by their landlords. On the other hand, inaction ultimately results in much higher costs. It follows, therefore, that climate action must be implemented in a way that is socially just and inclusive. The European Union has given particular attention to this in a number of acts of law. In Germany, too, there is a fresh focus on social climate action.

So what does it mean, actually – social climate action? What do we need to keep in mind in order that climate action becomes fair and socially just? Which stakeholders are called upon to act and on what scale? “Many people see the social question primarily as a financial one. Of course the question of what this all costs and whether one can afford it is vital. But there are other key questions of justice, such as: Can I do anything at all if I’m a tenant? How good is my access to mobility and can I reach important places such as the supermarket or the doctor? Or: Is my health impaired by a lack of climate action, for instance because I live on a road with lots of car traffic?” explains Dr Katja Schumacher, deputy head of the Oeko-Institut’s Energy & Climate Division. In a study titled “Cornerstones of socially responsible environmental and climate policy” which the institute carried out together with the Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft (FÖS) economic think tank and the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), the scientists explored these and many other aspects of just environmental and climate policy. Furthermore, everyone should be in a position to engage in climate-friendly investment or behaviour and to profit from it – micro photovoltaic systems for balconies are a good example. “Moreover, those who suffer particular burdens should receive special protection and support. This applies not only to those on low incomes, but also older people who are no longer so mobile, or single parents who have to juggle very many tasks and responsibilities,” Schumacher stresses. (On specific instruments of socially responsible energy and climate policy see in detail our article “1, 2 or 3?“ on page 6.)

Katja Schumacher notes that it is mainly those who are responsible for a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions who are the ones who should engage in climate action. Such people usually have a good income and can afford climate-friendly alternatives such as an electric vehicle, a heat pump or organic produce. “People who don’t have to worry much about money don’t respond particularly sensitively to price hikes such as those caused by carbon pricing. Here additional approaches are needed that revolve around the ancillary benefits of climate action – such as being a pioneer of innovative climate technologies, gaining independence through one’s own energy supply from a heat pump, or gaining better security against burglars thanks to triple glazing that delivers good thermal insulation at the same time.” The expert also points out how important it is to assess social impacts from the outset when climate policy measures are introduced, to ensure that they are configured with social justice in mind or are introduced in conjunction with social policy support. On behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), and in cooperation with the Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy (SOCIUM), the Oeko-Institut’s scientists are currently developing and testing a concept for the “Social monitoring of climate action”. “In specific terms this means: We are exploring the possibilities and limits of such social monitoring. We’re analysing diverse impact categories – such as regards income and property ownership, access to affordable housing, health and ownership of climate action – and we’re developing indicators for each of these categories.” Furthermore, the project team is analysing existing climate change mitigation schemes to verify its concept in the field.

A European foundation

“It is mainly thanks to the European Union that social climate action has become mainstreamed in policy-making and society at large in Germany. For it is the EU that prompts its member states to become active – for instance through the Energy Efficiency Directive,” says Schumacher. “The Directive regulates that people affected by energy poverty should be prime beneficiaries of efficiency measures and requires that the member states take action to combat energy poverty.” Similarly, the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive places a firm focus on needy people. “It prioritises measures for those living in the worst performing homes.”

Climate, social

Moreover, a Social Climate Fund will be established from 2026 onwards in the course of the introduction of a new EU-wide emissions trading system for buildings and road traffic. The fund will assist particularly affected households and micro-enterprises in converting to climate-friendly alternatives or behaviours, and shall buffer the financial burdens arising due to carbon pricing. “A part of the revenue gained from selling emissions trading certificates will go to this fund, from where it will be distributed among the member states. These are currently preparing social climate plans setting out concrete ideas for measures and investments in this target group.” Here, too, the Oeko-Institut is contributing its expertise in several projects. For instance, together with Fraunhofer ISI it is advising the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy on the preparation of the German social climate plan in a project titled “Scientific support to climate policy and the programme of measures”. “We’re identifying and quantifying vulnerable groups, and analysing the potential burdensome impacts of carbon pricing.”

In a further project carried out for the European Union’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (GD REFORM), a project consortium headed by Dutch consultancy Trinomics and including the Okeo-Institut is assisting nine member states in the preparation of their social climate plans – among them Belgium, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. “Here, too, the first step is to identify the vulnerable groups – to which micro-enterprises can belong – and build a data base on the prevailing energy poverty and mobility poverty,” says Nelly Unger, staff scientist at the Oeko-Institut. “The next step is to find out which measures are suited to providing assistance to these groups. These can be socially graduated grants for building retrofits or, for instance, social tickets for local public transport.” The Oeko-Institut will also analyse the concrete effects that such measures have upon the vulnerable groups. “Climate action benefits everyone and prevents high costs in the future,” notes Katja Schumacher, “but we must take care that its implementation does not cause those to fall by the wayside who already have a hard life.”