The European gas industry has walked away from an agreement on retraining and support for hundreds of thousands of workers to prepare for the transition to cleaner energy, in a setback for EU decarbonisation plans. The Just Transition European Framework Agreement was designed to provide guarantees for retraining and job protection, in anticipation of large-scale lay-offs caused by the move away from fossil fuels.
Eurogas said that although the negotiations had “not resulted in a formal framework agreement, we believe we can still find meaningful common ground”. “We are ready to explore alternative avenues, such as a memorandum of understanding, to establish best practice and provide the basis for productive ongoing conversation. “Our members remain fully committed to supporting a just transition for the gas sector,” it added.