Maria’s electricity bill had never been as high as the previous winter’s. Try paying that on one income with two children to feed. She worked hard – too hard if anything – but it was never enough at the end of the month.
She couldn’t have got out of that situation alone, but she wasn’t alone. The council finally opened the community childcare centre that they had been promising for years. A Green and Social Deal grant then came through and she renovated her draughty house. The new bus route meant she wasn’t using half as much petrol each week.
It turned out that once society treated all our daily struggles as shared problems, together we could solve them. With our Green and Social Deal, together we can turn lives like Marias – like ours – into more secure, happier, and healthier ones, with cheaper energy bills, healthy food at affordable prices, and clean air in our towns and cities.
Climate justice and social justice are two sides of the same coin.
Last year was the hottest year on record. The state of the planet is an emergency. The damage to lives and livelihoods – the homes flooded and farms bankrupted – caused by the climate crisis gets bigger each year.
We hear the urgent calls of scientists and activists. The animals and ecosystems dying off in record numbers cannot wait.
Climate action now will bring benefits across society, making our lives more affordable and pleasant in the years ahead. It will protect the nature that surrounds us.
Doing nothing will only serve the wealthiest profiting from fossil fuels, while leaving the poorest in our societies to bear the costs.
The living standards of people in Europe have been hit hard over the past few years. The cost of living is rising, forcing millions into insecurity with the most vulnerable paying the highest price.
Growing inequalities and burning economic injustice are not new. For decades, the ultra-rich have got away with paying next to no tax, while public services have been cut.
Jobs have become more precarious and too many people have had to leave the place they call home to find decent work.
None of this has to be normal. None of this is inevitable.
We have the courage to do what it takes.
They are our problems, and we need to solve them now. We won’t put it off for the next generation.
Fighting the cost-of-living crisis and economic inequality while protecting the climate and restoring nature will take investment. That is why we are proposing a major investment plan for Europe: the Green and Social Deal.
We will build new green infrastructure and fund quality public services. This economic opportunity will create new jobs and industries.
Everything we put forward combines improving lives with protecting the climate and environment.
We want toxic air pollution and wasteful fossil fuel subsidies to be things of the past. Tax havens for the few have no place in Europe or anywhere.
Affordable housing, renewable energy, and healthy food for all are what we will fight for. A stable climate and restored nature are what we will protect.
The Green and Social Deal is our plan for a greener, healthier Europe where lives are secure, prosperous, and full of opportunity.