The post-EU elections roadmap: ensuring social justice and economic stability on the path to net-zero

The transition to a carbon-neutral economy is a major technological challenge but it will also require decisive political and social transformations. The integration of perspectives from different stakeholders, such as corporate executives, tech leaders and civil society organisations and across disciplines can have a significant impact on shifting investments away from fossil fuels and towards green innovation. 

As data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows, the European energy sector already underwent critical transformations in the last few years, drastically reducing its dependency on Russia and, for the first time, producing more electricity from wind than gas in 2023, signalling record-breaking power generation from renewable sources. These transformations came however with several complications for European citizens, creating spiralling adverse effects that led to energy poverty affecting 41 million people in the EU. The recent Debating Europe report ‘2024 Voices – Citizens Speak Up!’ has shown that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has directly affected the lives of citizens, especially young people, across Europe. Due to increasing energy prices, European citizens struggled to heat their homes during the winter. 

Ensuring affordability and accessibility going forward will be crucial to maintaining competitiveness while preventing social inequality from widening as the energy landscape changes. With a new outlook for the energy landscape and possible shifting political priorities after the European elections, this Policy Insight offers a platform to discuss the pathways of the new European mandate.