Climate goals set without a clear social plan will turn decarbonisation into deindustrialisation, trade unions are warning after the European Commission today proposed a target of a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
In the week when the deaths of workers in high temperatures has demonstrated again how working people are on the frontline of the climate crisis, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) fully supports the EU in showing leadership on this issue.
However, setting climate targets without social safeguards and investment in a just transition is a recipe to repeat the chaotic deindustrialisation of the past, which will destroy thousands of jobs without alternatives and the communities which depend on them.
The EU is currently losing around 500 jobs a day amid mass restructuring and the Financial Times has reported that “a large chunk of emissions reductions have come from production cuts and plant closures, rather than decarbonisation.” It is deeply concerning that only one Member State has submitted its Social Climate Plan on time, delaying critical support from the €86.7 billion Social Climate Fund. This failure risks leaving vulnerable households and workers without support just as the new Emissions Trading System (ETS2) drives up energy and transport prices. Governments must act urgently to access this funding and deliver on the promise of a fair transition.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“At a time when an increasing number of people are dying due to working in extreme heat, getting serious about tackling climate change should absolutely be a priority for the EU. But in the middle of a crisis for European industry which is costing around 500 jobs a day, it is extremely irresponsible to set a higher target with no plan for its consequences on our industries, its workforce and their communities.
“The recent revelation that Europe is meeting its climate targets through deindustrialisation should have shown the Commission that ambition cannot be measured narrowly in emissions cuts. Europe needs a genuinely just transition to a green economy, which requires massive investment in the creation of quality new green jobs at the same time as ‘brown’ jobs are phased out and a new right to training during working hours to prepare for new opportunities.”
The ETUC is calling on the European Commission to take the following action:
• A binding Just Transition Directive, ensuring no worker or region is left behind;
• An EU investment facility to support decarbonisation, reindustrialisation and job creation, financed by common debt;
• A permanent EU employment support mechanism, modelled on SURE;
• Clear social conditionality tied to all public funding;
• Full trade union involvement in governance of the climate transition;
Positive alternatives exist, but they require coordinated, large-scale investment from national governments, the EU, and industry. These emissions reductions are not only dramatic—they are real decarbonisation, not deindustrialisation. Crucially, they safeguard high-quality jobs in industrial regions, and will ensure a long-term competitive advantage by allowing companies to sell low-carbon products across Europe and globally for decades to come. However, breakthrough projects rely on wider industrial investment and proactive industrial policy to build a long term business case and flourish.
By contrast, relying on international carbon credits or offsetting mechanisms to meet climate targets risks offshoring emissions reductions, exporting industrial jobs, and weakening incentives for decarbonisation at home. Europe must lead by example with genuine emissions cuts backed by investment and industrial policy, not accounting tricks.
Europe must show global leadership, not just in setting targets but in building a fairer international system where all economies take their share. Climate neutrality will only succeed if it goes hand in hand with international climate justice and efforts to prevent climate dumping.What’s missing is not technological solutions, but political will and the financial commitment to back them.
ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet added:
"Europe cannot afford a repeat of past transitions that left entire regions behind. Climate neutrality must not become a synonym for job insecurity. Continuing to treat climate and social policy as separate issues risks turning decarbonisation into deindustrialisation. We cannot allow that to happen.
“We need a Just Transition Directive, a European investment facility, and employment protection tools like a permanent SURE mechanism — not just to prevent harm, but to seize the massive opportunities to create quality jobs and reduce inequality through the green transition. Without these, a 90% target will not be credible or socially sustainable.
“Ambition is not measured only in emission cuts — it is measured in how we protect people through the change. We urgently need accompanying measures, not solely market-focused and deregulatory incentives."
