That is why Europe needs a Social Agenda for the Energy Transition, to create jobs in a just transition, fight energy poverty, democratise the energy system and improve public health. 

The clean energy transition, as well as the shift towards a green and circular economy, have huge potential for new quality jobs in the green economy with a strong gender equality dimension. More gender equality leads to more sustainable development. The EU should support regions all over Europe to manage the clean energy transition, especially those that face specific challenges, for example, because their communities and economies depend on heavy industries or mining. We call for a Europe-wide action plan about how to organise this change. We want to set the right framework for workers and companies to adapt to a changing environment without structural disruptions. Our vision for industrial policy is about organising just transitions: changes that support workers from polluting industries to take advantage of new, high-quality jobs and business opportunities in a clean economy. For this purpose, a European Just Transition Fund should be set up to finance an education and training system that provides workers with the new skills they need in the green economy, with special emphasis on tackling gender inequalities in this emerging sector, and to find clean solutions for the transport and energy industries. 

Today, millions of Europeans suffer from energy poverty; they cannot afford to properly warm their houses in winter.