Author: Stella Tsani, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, and Digital Ambassador of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW)
Europe’s clean energy transition is accelerating. In 2025, wind and solar reached 30% of EU electricity, overtaking for the first time fossil power (29%). Yet the benefits and costs of decarbonisation remain unevenly distributed across regions and communities. In 2025, 92.7 million people in the EU (20.9% of the population) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Europe’s energy transition will succeed only if it strengthens social cohesion, industrial competitiveness and inclusive governance.
Fairness and cohesion-oriented policies and investments for a successful energy transition
The European Union has made significant progress towards clean energy transition. Renewable energy deployment is accelerating, fossil fuel dependence is declining, and clean technologies are reshaping the industrial systems. Yet the transition remains highly uneven across European regions. Coal-dependent areas, carbon-intensive industrial clusters and rural communities continue to face disproportionate economic and social pressures linked to decarbonisation.
The challenges of the energy transition in the EU have moved beyond being merely technological or environmental. They increasingly emerge as social, territorial and institutional. Without targeted support, the clean energy transition risks deepening regional inequalities, increasing energy poverty and fuelling political distrust.
A just transition is a core dimension of energy and climate policy and a precondition for their long-term success. Cohesion-oriented policies and investments can generate strong regional development benefits when combined with institutional support and local participation. However, the impacts are not automatic. Benefits vary significantly across regions depending on governance quality, absorptive capacity and long-term development planning.
The importance of inclusive governance
A just transition cannot be designed only from the top down. Citizens, local authorities, workers, businesses, universities and civil society organisations must all participate in shaping the energy transition pathways. Inclusive governance increases policy legitimacy, strengthens public trust and improves the effectiveness of implementation.
This is particularly important in regions where energy and climate policies are perceived as externally imposed or socially unequal. Communities that experience industrial decline often associate environmental regulation with job losses and economic insecurity. Participatory governance can help address these concerns by creating local ownership over transition strategies and ensuring that investments respond to local needs.
Universities and research institutions have a crucial role to play in this process. Beyond technological innovation, they contribute to regional knowledge ecosystems, evidence-based policymaking and capacity building. Interdisciplinary research linking climate policy, economics, energy systems and social justice is essential to design policies that are both environmentally effective and socially equitable.
Priorities for a just transition as a transformative pathway for Europe
Just transition in Europe can serve as a transformative development strategy that strengthens regional resilience, industrial competitiveness and social inclusion. Several priorities can serve this end target. First, investments should be geographically balanced and aligned with local development needs. Additionally, social investments should accompany technological transformation, particularly through education, skills and public services. Last, governance frameworks should strengthen participation, transparency and institutional coordination across European, national and regional levels.
This opinion editorial was produced in co-operation with the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) – the biggest annual event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe. #EUSEW2026 marks the 20th edition and will once again bring together the community of people who care about building a secure and clean energy future for the next generations.
The author
Stella Tsani is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her research focuses on sustainable development, climate policy, energy transition and natural resource management. She contributes to international scientific and policy initiatives on sustainability, climate governance and just transitions.
Useful links
- European Investment Bank (2022). Supporting the Just Transition Mechanism-comprehensive proposal of the EIB Group. https://www.eib.org/en/publications/supporting-the-just-transition-mechanism.htm
- European Parliament (2025) The role of cohesion policy in supporting the just transition. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2025/775894/EPRS_ATA(2025)775894_EN.pdf
- JRC (2025) Opportunities and challenges for EU energy policy 2025-2035 https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC142668/JRC142668_01.pdf
- UNDP (2026). What is a just transition and why is it important for climate action? https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/what-just-transition-and-why-it-important-climate-action
