Why Europe needs a green recovery

The ongoing health and economic crises will severely impact the world we live in, to an extent we cannot yet estimate. 

Despite this, some governments and stakeholders are starting to think about tomorrow and how to recover. There could be a temptation to go back as fast as possible to “business as usual”, and indeed, many political and corporate voices are pushing in that direction.

However, electrical contractors, responsible for powering the energy transition, know that this is not the good path. For the past few years, sometimes decades, their jobs have evolved to combine traditional electrical work with energy efficiency activity, digitalisation, renewables, and smart technologies, just to name a few.

As a result, EuropeOn, on behalf of our members which include ECA, is pushing for a green recovery as the best way forward. We are convinced that the upcoming recovery calls for major projects in energy transition, because they are the best option to create numerous, permanent, local and qualified jobs, while building a cleaner future. Investments should aim at making this vision a reality.

To support these efforts, EuropeOn has joined a call for mobilisation with ministers from 11 European countries, Members of the European Parliament, CEOs of major companies, influential NGOs and other associations. Together, we support a cross-party, cross-sector initiative for a green recovery, to restart our economies on more sustainable grounds.

It is a realistic vision, as we stated in our call for mobilisation: 

Over the last 10 years, tremendous progress has been made in most transition sectors, developing new technologies and value chains, and dramatically reducing the cost of the transition (…). 

Ten years ago, zero-emission vehicles were only a prototype. Ten years ago, wind energy was three times more expensive than it is today, and solar energy seven times. 

Ten years ago, we had not carried out renovation work on buildings showing that this action is profitable.

We now intend to continue making the case for a green recovery, utilising our Skills4Climate campaign – launched a few months ago – to help amplify the efforts.

• To read the call for mobilisation, launched by MEP Pascal Canfin, click here.
• To read about our Skills4Climate campaign, click here.