The climate neutrality is an ambitious objective that requires a significant commitment from the European Union, but also from the national public and private sectors. In the short and medium period, disruptive implications will affect enterprises, public administrations and workforces across Europe. To undertake the ecological transition does not simply mean “greening” the current system. It means adopting a new economic and social model, and this will have a considerable impact on the future of work and the workforce.

On September 29, CESI expert commission ‘Defense’ took place to exchange under the new EcoTra project. The aim of the project is to ensure that the green transition is socially fair. A just transition should not only apply to private-sector workers but also public sector staff.

The Commission was opened by the president Thomas Sohst who stressed the importance of green transition not only for workers but also for the future generations. Ms. Engel from the EU external action service presented the EU’s climate change and defense roadmap. Climate change poses multiple challenges to our society. A comprehensive strategy shall be put forward to ensure a human-centered transition able to respond to the needs of our societies.

The importance of the green transition for military service was highlighted by Raluca Radescu from CESI secretariat. Military personnel are front line workers when it comes to climate change. Therefore, we need to place them in the heart of the EU’s political agenda, where all stakeholders, including trade unions, are consulted and heard in the making and shaping of EU green transition.

Tilemachos Dafnis from the CESI General Secretariat presented the new EU-cofunded project of CESI’s Europe Academy entitled ‘ECOTRA – Ecological change in public services’, which targets worker-friendly ‘greening’ of public services, including healthcare. He noted that knowledge about the European Green Deal will facilitate the identification with and the ownership of the European Green Deal’s objectives within CESI’s trade union network.