WHY GREENPATHS?
The findings of recent and ongoing research conducted by the GREENPATHS partners show that policy choices have significant social and distributional impacts that affect large sectors of the population in Europe and around the world. The convergence of the climate emergency, the economic crisis that began in 2007/8, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have increased inequality and weakened social cohesion. In this context, setting up a knowledge platform and creating a European network backed by scientific evidence of the impacts of climate and environmental policy interventions is very timely. The coordination and support action derives from previous and ongoing work by the GREENPATHS partners around 'green' and 'just' transitions, in particular on energy and climate, land use, transport, food, agriculture, construction, trade and taxation, and industrial production.
‘Green' and 'just' transitions, from the perspective of GREENPATHS participants, means focusing on three fundamental processes:
● A shift towards a sustainable model of production and consumption in which the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation and resilience policies, the protection of biodiversity and the protection and restoration of ecosystems are prioritised.
● A shift towards a social model based on equity and social cohesion, including a fair distribution of the benefits and costs of the climate transition, guaranteeing access to public goods and services, generating decent employment and reducing inequalities.
● A shift towards greater citizens’ participation and expanded social dialogue that enables more democratic planning and implementation of the desired transitions.
