Unhappy Anniversary: Germany’s climate social plan must be finalised without delay

The Climate Social Fund is the EU’s key instrument for safeguarding the social dimension of the transition to climate neutrality. It is designed to support households, micro-enterprises and transport users who are particularly hard hit by rising energy and transport costs. A national climate social plan is a prerequisite for receiving funding. One year after the deadline, only the plans from Sweden and Lithuania have so far been approved by the European Commission. Six further plans are under review, whilst 19 Member States – including Germany – have not yet officially submitted their plans.

As long as the plan is missing, urgently needed funds for socially just climate action remain on hold. Young people in particular are affected by energy and mobility poverty. Climate policy must therefore be designed in such a way that it provides tangible relief, reduces social inequalities and makes the transition understandable and fair.

Young people’s perspectives on this have long been on the table. Through the Coordination Centre for Youth Participation in Climate Issues, youth associations and organisations have closely supported the process surrounding the National Climate and Social Plan. Representatives from various youth associations and organisations have drawn up a joint position paper setting out specific demands, which is supported by twelve youth associations and organisations. In it, they call for, amongst other things:

• Recognising young people as a particularly affected group: Minors should, as a matter of principle, be regarded as at risk of mobility poverty. When assessing mobility and energy poverty, greater consideration should be given to households with children and young people.
• Design support measures to ensure they reach young people: Direct payments and support schemes must not exclude young people without their own income or who do not pay tax. Application and payment procedures must be as accessible as possible.
• Make mobility support more widespread and family-friendly: social leasing and purchase incentives should cover not only electric cars, but also bicycles, e-bikes and electric cargo bikes. For electric cars, household size should be taken into account so that large families also receive suitable offers.
• Tackling mobility poverty in the long term: Beyond the National Climate and Social Plan, a comprehensive strategy is needed to combat mobility poverty, in particular through improved public transport, on-demand services, sharing schemes and an affordable ‘Deutschlandticket’ for young people.
• Communicating the Climate and Social Plan in a clear and target-group-appropriate manner: A communication strategy is needed that reaches young people, informs them at an early stage and, through positive narratives, highlights the concrete added value that socially just climate protection can bring to everyday life.

These demands have been brought into the political process: youth representatives have discussed them with the head of the Climate Protection Department at the relevant Ministry of the Environment, and stakeholder dialogues and presented the concerns of organised youth civil society to the European Commission and the EU Member States in Brussels.

This process must now be brought to a conclusion. The Federal Government is called upon to finalise the National Climate and Social Plan without delay and submit it to the European Commission. Youth participation has shown that there are clear demands, concrete proposals and a willingness among young people to play a constructive role in shaping the social aspects of climate protection.

Next year, 30 June should not be another ‘unhappy anniversary’, but rather a cause for celebration, with a National Climate and Social Plan in place, effective measures for socially just climate action, and support that reaches the people who need it.