Keeping an eye on the transition: are we monitoring our progress?

The Just Transition Mechanism is a key strategy for enabling a just transition to climate neutrality under the EU Green Deal. However, now that the regions move on to the implementation phase of their territorial just transition plans, they face a number of challenges, such as regulation, the timeline for project delivery, lack of project implementation capacity, and absence of roadmaps - all of which require the application of progress-tracking mechanisms. Yet, there is no common approach to measuring transition progress among regions, which results in lack of quantitative and qualitative data and, consequently, scarce information on the value and effectiveness of the implemented measures. 

It is hard to accurately measure all progress; nonetheless, it is clear that simple indicators, data sheets, and Excel files are not enough to provide a comprehensive view of the progress of just transitions, as they often fail to include social parameters like social cohesion and identity.

This session targets policy- and decision-makers at regional and European level, and it aims to discuss challenges, opportunities, and solutions to measure progress and monitor governance (including through monitoring committees) in the context of just transitions. The different approaches and methodologies already in use across coal and carbon-intensive regions will be explored to trigger a brainstorming session.

The session will start with an open plenary (30 minutes) on the challenges and opportunities in monitoring transition progress; participants can then join an interactive discussion in two of three 30-minute deep-dive breakout groups, each led by a LIFE-CET-COAL project (JUSTEM, SITRANS, RePower the Regions) with local partners. 

Key insights from each breakout group will be shared in a final 30-minute plenary, which is expected to result in a set of policy recommendations to the European Commission.