Support to the Preparation of Social Climate Plans

To achieve the 2030 climate targets adopted in the European Climate Law, the European Union (EU) has committed to strengthening the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) by expanding emissions trading to new sectors, including the building and road transport sectors. This expanded system, known as “ETS2” (Revised ETS Directive), will begin in 2027. To mitigate the social impacts arising from ETS2, the Social Climate Fund has been established, providing a total of EUR 65 billion in funding from 2026 to 2032. This fund is dedicated to supporting vulnerable households, transport users, and micro-enterprises in Member States.

This project aims to provide technical support to nine Member States: Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia. These Member States will develop their Social Climate Plans, which should be submitted to the Commission by June 2025. Specifically, the project offers guidance on the definition and identification of vulnerable stakeholders (individuals, households and micro-enterprises), modelling the impact of ETS2 and of measures financed via the Social Climate Fund. The project also assists Member States in stakeholder consultations, planned as part of the process to identify suitable eligible measures and investments to be included in their Social Climate Plans. Trinomics leads the projects, coordinating the work of the nine national Teams and the work of core experts, as well as contributing to expertise in several areas. Topical expertise provided by the project includes energy, energy and transport poverty and vulnerability, buildings, and EU Funding & Investments, including DNSH.