Embedding social justice in EU climate and sustainability governance

This roundtable, moderated by Claire Dupont (Ghent University), brought together voices from research, trade unions, civil society, EU institutions, and the European Environment Agency. Panelists explored how fairness, inclusion, and distributional concerns can be systematically embedded into climate and sustainability governance. Speakers highlighted the importance of procedural justice (inclusive and representative decision-making), the role of EU funds such as the Just Transition Fund and Social Climate Fund, and the need for integration across policy silos rather than ad-hoc compensation. They also stressed the interplay of labour rights, social dialogue, and environmental protection, reflecting on challenges such as limited fiscal space, fossil fuel subsidies, and fragmented policymaking. At the same time, opportunities were noted in linking mitigation with adaptation, promoting circular economy approaches, tackling energy poverty, and scaling up local innovations.

The debate underscored that just transition is not a top-down project but must be co-created with workers, communities, and citizens at all levels.

Watch it here on YouTube if you'd like to access the video transcript or jump chapters.

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Key Highlights
Defining social justice in transitions: goes beyond compensation to include inclusive governance, fair burden-sharing, and recognition of intergenerational and environmental justice.
EU policy instruments: the Just Transition Fund, Social Climate Fund, and cohesion policy support fairness, but remain limited in scope; stronger integration across all EU policies, including the Clean Industrial Deal, is needed.
Role of stakeholders: trade unions, civil society, and local communities must be central actors—through social dialogue, collective bargaining, and participatory governance—rather than passive beneficiaries.
Barriers to integration: persistent silos, fossil fuel subsidies, unequal opportunities, fiscal constraints, and tensions between urgency and inclusiveness hinder systemic embedding of justice.
Opportunities for synergies: connecting mitigation with adaptation, energy poverty measures, and circular economy solutions can deliver both environmental and social benefits.
Local dimension: EU frameworks set direction, but much of the lived experience and innovation in just transition emerges locally, requiring stronger links between EU policy and grassroots practice.

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Panel

Louis Florin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) within the Socio-Environmental Dynamics Research Group (SONYA) where he is contributing to and coordinating the LAMARTRA research project on governance strategies to the bridge ecological and labour transitions. Louis obtained a Ph.D. in Social and Political Science from the University of Liège where he focused on new forms of employment, labour market statistics and social protection. Beyond academia, he has experience as public policy evaluator participating in evaluation of EU and UN agencies development policies and strategies. 

Dirk Bergrath is a member of the Workers' Group (Group II) at the EESC and a prominent figure in European labor relations, currently serving as the head of the EU Liaison Office for IG Metall, Europe's largest trade union with over 2.2 million members. In this capacity, he represents the union's interests within European institutions, advocating for workers' rights and industrial policies. Since 2014, he has been a member of the EESC, actively participating in the Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (NAT) and the Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption (INT). His career includes significant roles within the German Permanent Representation to the EU, the international department of IG Metall, and the European Metalworkers’ Federation. Since opening IG Metall’s Brussels office in 2014, Bergrath has been a key player in representing and advocating for workers’ rights at the European level.

Mags Bird is Senior Policy Officer for Just Transition within the Climate & Energy team in WWF European Policy Office. She holds a postgraduate certificate in Climate Change & Energy from the University of Antwerp and an MsC in Development Management from the London School of Economics. She previously worked in humanitarian aid.

Pawel Olechnowicz is a Policy Officer at the European Commission in the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy. He works within the Smart and Sustainable Growth unit, responsible for the coordination of the Just Transition Fund—a key initiative aimed at supporting communities as they transition toward a climate-neutral economy.

Catherine Ganzleben is the Head of Unit on Sustainable and Fair Transitions, European Environment Agency (EEA). With over 25 years of experience in sustainability, Dr Catherine Ganzleben leads the Unit on Sustainable and Fair Transitions at theEuropean Environment Agency. Catherine manages a diverse team of senior experts, who track progress towards sustainability in Europe, assess mechanisms to enable change in our core production and consumption systems, and explore how costs and benefits are distributed across society.  Catherine previously lead the Group on Air Pollution, Environment and Health at the EEA, producing robust evidence on how environmental pollution impacts health, as well as how nature underpins health and wellbeing. Catherine also served as Head of Group on Green Economy at the EEA, assessing progress towards a circular economy in Europe. 
Prior to the EEA, Catherine worked on sustainable development in the private sector as an environment and health consultant, for UNITAR delivering technical assistance on chemicals and waste, and for the IISD reporting on multi-lateral environmental agreements. She has a DPhil in economic geography from Oxford University and a post doc in urban ecosystems from United Nations University.

Moderator:

Claire Dupont is a Research Professor of European and International Governance at Ghent University’s Department of Public Governance. Since 2016, she has served as a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency, and in 2022, she was elected Chair of the Scientific Committee. Since 2021, Claire is also serving as a member of the Luxembourg Climate Policy Observatory.

Her research has long focused on EU climate and energy governance, with particular research interests in climate policy integration and the interactions between the internal and external dimensions of EU policy, and the role of the EU in the world. More recently, her work has turned to studies of approaches to governing the broader transition to sustainability.

Associate member(s)

SONYA (Socio-Environmental Dynamics Research Group) – Université Libre de Bruxelles