Labor Unions Warn of EU Energy Poverty

July 27, 2021 (EIRNS)—The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has warned of increased energy poverty as a result of proposals from the European Commission’s “Fit for 55” program to effect the EU Green Deal. “A €5 increase in the price at the petrol pump and €35-40 per month on household energy bills will negatively affect the income of all workers,” ETUC confederal secretary Ludovic Voet was quoted as saying in a July 26 ETUC press release. He further asserted that so-called “renewable” alternatives were not yet available for households.

“Renters (retired), commuters, small business owners and many consumers will experience higher energy and transport costs without a real opportunity to shift towards alternatives in the short-term,” agreed Silke Ernst, head of Germany’s major trade union, the influential metal workers in IG Metall. ETUC declared that if adopted, the Fit for 55 proposal would affect 50 million EU households living in energy poverty, with a cost of €170 per ton of CO2, hitting the average household annually with cost hikes of €373 for transport and €429 for buildings. In the future, it is estimated, between 50 and 125 million people, including the U.K., will be unable to affordably heat their homes under the Green Deal.