On May 12, 2022 our CELSI team participated, both as a guest, as well as a presenter at a conference, called "JUST TRANSITION: WHERE IS THE EUROPEAN CAR INDUSTRY HEADING?".

In Brussels, Renaissance Hotel, our colleagues, Monika Martišková and Patrik Gažo, presented their own findings, related to a topic, which has an impact on our future, in economic, social, as well as in ecological way, what is the reaching of a carbon-neutral goals stated by the EU, as well as a just transition in the European automotive industry.

What problems do we need to address first, and how?

The conference opened with keynote speeches and then moved into an interactive, co-creative format.

The first keynote speaker Frank Siebern-Thomas from the European Commission’s DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion stressed the need for policy to realise the potential of transition while addressing the risks through labour market policies, re-skilling, investment and mitigating regressive effects.

Benjamin Denis, senior policy advisor at the European trade union IndustriALL, gave the second keynote. He particularly emphasised the importance of social dialogue in accelerating the emissions reduction in the EU.

Afterwards, transformation expert Janna Aljets provided critical commentary on the keynotes, with a particular focus on climate and global justice. “What kind of economy can we not only afford but which economy can bring wellbeing without destroying our common basis of life? How do we understand an economy that is not based on the over-exploitation of resources and people, especially in the Global South?”

At last, the conference concluded with a multi-stakeholder panel discussion. Panelists were Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg (MEP Greens/EFA), Tommaso Pardi (Director GERPISA, Research Group on the Automobile Industry and its Employees), Sigrid de Vries (Secretary General CLEPA, European Association of Automotive Suppliers) and Balázs Bábel (Vice-President VASAS, Hungarian Metalworkers’ Federation).

Finding solutions – co-creatively

The new insights, controversies and open questions served as the basis for co-creative workshops on four topics: Stakeholder participation and social dialogue, Electrification, Reskilling and Just Transition in the Central and Eastern European car industry. In the workshops diverse stakeholder groups came together to identify key questions that urgently need to be answered together.

Through lively, face-to-face discussions, the co-creative format of the workshops enabled an understanding of various perspectives on the transition. We used deep listening exercises to familiarise participants with conflicting positions of other stakeholders and enable the development of initial solutions.

The conference had a unique structure, because it brought together sectoral experts, researchers, trade union representatives, who not only discussed about the issue of the just transition, but also participated on interactive workshops, which dealt with different questions related to just transition.

Stakeholders from politics, the private sector, NGOs, trade unions and academia convened and engaged in an open dialogue about the future of the car industry.

The co-creative conference provided a space for knowledge sharing, discussion and mutual understanding in interactive workshops and with excellent keynote speakers.