About the project
JustGreen project comes at a time when the EU is facing numerous challenges – relating to war at its borders, changing geopolitical power balances, rule of law issues, and mounting inequality – putting both internal and external pressure on the EU.
JustGreen reacts to the challenges posed by the EU green transition, which arguably represents the greatest test for the EU in its recent history and will likely cause far-reaching transformations in the economic and social life of the citizens in the Union.
This project aims to engage the V4 citizens in debates and other forms of public engagement around decarbonization in three areas that are linked to their everyday lives: housing, transport, and the job market.
The public engagement activities, along with the ancillary research, shall pinpoint specific obstacles citizens and communities encounter when implementing climate-friendly steps or adapting to the EU decarbonization policies. This project will encourage debates and other forms of engagement among the V4 citizens, and it will bring their feedback to local, national, and EU-level politicians, thus fostering citizen ownership of the EU climate and environmental policies.
It is important that citizens feel ownership of the transition process and do not see it as imposed from above and that social policies are an integral part of the transition. If people feel that policies are simply imposed on them or that they even worsen their economic situation, they are particularly susceptible to populist and nationalist, anti-EU messages that seek to reverse the green transition. Differently put, only with a sense of local ownership and political support can the green transition be sustained, and for this reason, the “just” qualifier is an essential characteristic to prioritize throughout the process.
Understanding citizens attitudes, engaging them in debates about a just green transition, and involving them in policymaking is crucial.
Partner institutions
EUROPEUM Institute for European policy
EUROPEUM is a European non-profit, non-partisan independent think-tank focusing on European affairs based in the Czech Republic. EUROPEUM and its work are dedicated to promoting democracy, citizen engagement, public participation and solidarity across Europe. EUROPEUM’s work revolves around the engagement of citizens, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders through public and private events, educational activities and novel research aimed at improving European and Czech policymaking. As part of this commitment to a strong Europe, EUROPEUM currently operates in both Brussels, where it has an office and Prague. The Brussels office of EUROPEUM also serves as a representation office of the Think Visegrad network, a network of eight think tanks from Visegrad countries.
Bratislava Policy Institute
Bratislava Policy Institute’s objective is to support and develop public policy research initiatives and to provide public policy-orientated expertise in the areas of youth, extremism, ethnicity, citizenship, minority studies, and migration. BPI’s team is made up of sociologists, political scientists, and legal scholars. The team is able to engage in interdisciplinary research and public policy consultancy that is critical to the study of previously complex themes. BPI fosters publication activities, organises seminars, conferences, and workshops, works on expert standpoints and public policy materials, and consultancy activities. BPI is personally and scientifically linking up on good traditions of research and analytical activities of the Institute for Public Affairs Bratislava. BPI’s diversified team has been involved in various activities concerning both activism and policy research for the sake of a liberal democratic regime and against extremism and disinformation campaigns inspired and run by different enemies of liberal democratic regimes.
21 Research Center
21 Research Center is a Budapest-based think tank specialising in social research, public opinion polls, political analysis and consultancy. Since its conception in 2020, the Center has dedicated itself to advancing the political insight, openness and democratic culture of Hungarian society. 21 Research Center is fully committed to Hungary’s Euro-Atlantic orientation, environmental protection, and the general values of a merit-based, inclusive and participatory democracy. The team, therefore, strives to cooperate with political and economic actors that share the same set of goals. The 21 Research Center’s mission rests on the pillars of professionalism, and its main purpose is to create analyses and policy papers which are objective, free of bias, follow the highest scientific standards, and build upon hard data. Throughout the research projects, the think tank remained true to its values and aimed to inform citizens of Hungarian politics through various channels with unbiased and scientifically grounded insights.
Projekt: Polska Foundation
The Projekt: Polska Foundation is a political foundation established in 2007 in Warsaw to promote modern solutions for Poland, especially in the area of civil society and open democracy developments. The Foundation works as a framework for a group of professionals with immense experience in direct action, entrepreneurs, leading NGO heads, and civil servants who believe in a more democratic and open Poland in strong and well-integrated Europe. The Foundation’s mission is to bring together experts and leaders to promote public policy solutions based on diversity, free society, European values and the rule of law. The Foundation has a multidimensional character: it develops projects from diverse social, political and economic areas. Among the most important projects developed by the Foundation are HejtStop, a programme aiming to combat hate speech in the public sphere; Razem’89, a coalition of over 300 organisations to organise a civic celebration of the 20th anniversary of first Polish free elections; Congress of Freedom, Państwomiasto, social and cultural hub downtown Warsaw; and capacity building programme for young democratic foundations from Eastern Europe.