Filtri

Just Transition Fund


What is the JTF?

The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a new financial instrument within Cohesion Policy which  supports those territories facing serious socio-economic challenges linked to the transition to climate neutrality.

The Fund is intended to ensure that the ambitious climate targets set by the European Green Deal, aimed at achieving a climate-neutral EU by 2050, are attained in a fair manner and leave no one behind.

What does the JTF support and how is it invested?

The JTF supports regions and territories through subsidies in those sectors deemed as most sensitive and exposed to the consequences of the transition to climate neutrality, also due to their link to and dependence on fossil fuels (including coal, peat and oil shale) and greenhouse gas-intensive industrial processes.

To have access to JFT resources, EU Member States are required to devise the so-called Territorial Just Transition Plans – TJTPs (Art. 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1056), laying down all types of actions pursued to address the short- and long-term transition challenges of a given territory by 2030, with key focus on territories’ economic diversification and modernisation, as well as professional retraining/upgrading and active inclusion of workers and jobseekers.

Main investment sectors are capable of having the greatest impact on territories’ transformation and competitiveness, and their socio-economic and environmental sustainability in the medium to long term. They include: clean energy technologies, emission reduction, industrial sites’ rehabilitation, and professional enhancement.

The JTF in Italy

Via Annex D of the Country Report published within the European Semester 2020, the European Commission (EC) identified the territories most affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy in each Member State.

For Italy, the EC identified Taranto and Sulcis Iglesiente. JTF investments for Italy are therefore concentrated in these two geographical areas through a National JTF Programme managed by the Territorial Cohesion Agency.

For each identified area the TJTPs are designed and implemented consistently with the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, which lays down Italy’s guidelines to decarbonise its economy and achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

Italy’s Territorial Plans and negotiations with the European Commission

In order to define the Territorial Plans, in 2021 the European Commission set up close discussion with stakeholders, led by the Cohesion Policy Department and the Territorial Cohesion Agency, aimed at identifying the intervention logic and bringing to light any coherent projects present in the territories. Negotiations with the European Commission took place during 2022 and, after an initial proposal was sent on 20 June, it was concluded with Decision C(2022) 9764 of 16 December 2022 approving the National Programme and the two Territorial Plans.

Consistently and synergically with the Regional Programmes financed by the ERDF and ESF+ and other territorial programmes (e.g. Sulcis Plan, CIS Taranto), Italy’s TJTPs describe the transition process at a national level. They furthermore assess the challenges ahead and their related social, economic and environmental impacts; describe the interventions and investments pursued and the expected contributions; and identify the enterprises to be supported whereby these are not small and/or medium-sized enterprises.

The challenges identified specifically focus on three main areas:

  • Energy and environment
  • Economic diversification
  • Social and employment effects.

Download the text of the National Programme approved on 16/12/2022 complete with the Territorial Plans

Available resources

At EU level, the JTF makes available €17.5 billion. With the national co-financing quota, €1.211 billion is earmarked for Italy.

The Programme allocates €367.2 million to Sulcis Iglesiente and €795.6 million to Taranto, while €48.4 million has been reserved for Technical Assistance, as set out in Regulation 2021/1060.

The resources earmarked for the concerned territories are broken down among the challenges pursued, with 30% reserved for energy and the environment, 38% for economic diversification, and 32% for measures to mitigate the economic and employment effects triggered by the transition, respectively.

Strategic Environmental Assessment

In compliance with the SEA Directive (2001/42/EC), a path has been activated to assess, as per EU rules, the Programme’s effects on the environment and ensure enhanced decision-making on programmes and actions.

The process, which strongly relied on public participation with the activation of the two planned consultations, was concluded with the technical opinion issued by the Ministry of Culture (Directorate General for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape) and the opinion of the Technical Commission for Environmental Assessment of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security.

 

Download SEA-related documents: