Notes by Kate Plant and Simon Redfern
History of the term.
Tony Mazzocchi of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union 1980
“Superfund for Workers,” which would compensate and retrain those who moved out of environmentally hazardous jobs
2015 Paris Agreement / COP21 “just transition” mentioned on Page 2: “Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities, “
What is “Just Transition” in simple terms?
A Just Transition means greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.
Just transition is a framework developed by the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating climate change and protecting biodiversity. In Europe, advocates for a just transition want to unite social and climate justice, for example, for coal workers in coal-dependent developing regions who lack employment opportunities beyond coal.
In the past years, a number of organizations have deployed the concept of a Just Transition with respect to environmental and/or climate justice.[3]
With regards to climate change mitigation, the IPCC defines just transition as follows: "A set of principles, processes and practices that aim to ensure that no people, workers, places, sectors, countries or regions are left behind in the transition from a high-carbon to a low carbon economy."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_transition
What is just transition theory?
Just Transition is a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This means approaching production and consumption cycles holistically and waste-free.
What are the four pillars of just transition?
The report suggests four key elements for the 'just' in just transition: (1) risks and impacts, (2) opportunities and benefits, (3) agency and accountability, and (4) transformational systems change.Feb 3, 2023
Source: https://www.wearehumanlevel.com
From the The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
The aim of the just transition is to compensate, as far as possible, for social disadvantages that are caused or amplified by changing economic structures, and to create new opportunities for development.
For example, large numbers of jobs will be lost as a result of the exit from fossil fuel power generation. Workers will then need access to reskilling and new employment opportunities in other sectors. At the same time, this structural change has the potential to create new jobs, for example in the renewable energy industry.
Source: https://www.bmz.de/en/issues/climate-change-and-development/just-transition
How do you ensure a just transition?
Adequate, informed and ongoing consultation should take place with all relevant stakeholders. (b) Policies must respect, promote and realize fundamental principles and rights at work. (inc. Freedom to join Unions) (c) Policies and programmes need to take into account the strong gender dimension of many environmental challenges and opportunities.
Examples
- Job Retraining and Career retraining in general in fair and equitable way: so that no-one is left behind.
What about Unintended Consequences?
Have a look at these examples:
- Wind turbine requires 600 tonnes of steel / 600 tonnes of iron ore. Mongolia
- Additional Power transmission lines (required by increased electrification) require Copper. Much comes from South America. Peru. Indigenous land.
- Lithium Ion batteries use Cobalt used in the cathodes. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 70% - ASM (Artisanal or Small scale Mining) dangerous. Alternatives here
What is the just transition agenda?
A just transition seeks to ensure that the substantial benefits of a green economy transition are shared widely, while also supporting those who stand to lose economically – be they countries, regions, industries, communities, workers or consumers.
Listen to the Podcast “Just Transition” from Context
Overburden from open cast coal mining. Indian law requires coal mins to green the huge areas of sand and rock left by open cast mining. Led to Tigers, Leopards and bears inhabiting the new forests. Problem is that Humans are around and cars and Tigers got used to it and this led to human - animal conflict and a five year old girl being killed in a village.
https://news.trust.org/item/20210909032939-0yo22
Coal mine: Terrible pollution, roads etc.
Solar park is clean.
Solar & Hydro is the new coal
Solar panel farms in India. After 5 years of drought Farmers were in debt, and the Government agreed to lease land from farmers to build a large solar power farm.
280 dollars / acre / year for 25 years
Promised:
- Jobs
- Better drinking water etc
But jobs didn’t come
Contracts to locals to clean the solar panels. But it's an arid area There’s not much water. So robot arms are now being increasingly used to clean the solar panels.
Young people have not stayed / come back.
Roli Srivastava
Is a Climate & Just Transition Correspondent, India, @Contextnewsroom, the Thomson Reuters Foundation's media platform
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roli-srivastava-0378098/
"Given the present policies, solar is definitely going the coal way," said researcher Rao. "The same mistakes are being repeated with big companies coming from outside, pitching their tents and side-lining communities who have lived and farmed in these regions for decades."
"Solar needs to be more inclusive than coal," said Rao. "Policy makers should put communities at the centre of their planning as they push for renewable energy. Only then will both the state and the people benefit."
"For men it is fine. They still find some work. We just sit at home," said Sheti Khatoon, 50, of Bhadla where health workers said hypertension and diabetes were becoming more common due to newly sedentary lifestyles.
Source: https://bit.ly/3giNBsi
How to do it:
Do it smaller.
Pavagada Solar Park 53 square kilometres
Loss and damage: https://www.context.news/climate-risks/tensions-soar-over-climate-loss-and-damage-fund-ahead-of-cop28
India is the world's second largest coal producer after China. But it has committed to changing its energy profile drastically to meet climate change targets. As you will hear from our correspondents Anuradha Nagaraj and Roli Srivastava, the pace of that change is having unexpected consequences.
In the town of Chandrapur, Maharashtra, coal mining has led to an unexpected revival of local ecology, and deaths from tiger and leopard attacks. Sand dumped from the mining process has created new hills in the countryside which have become an accidental refuge for large predators.
In the southern town of Pavagada in the state of Karnataka, a government scheme to buy farmland for a solar park was initially popular. Local farmers were promised jobs and a better future. That optimism is fading as people learn the solar park will use robots to maintain the solar panels.
Read the full story on tigers invading India's villages here: https://tmsnrt.rs/3V72o7X
Read the full story on India's biggest solar parks here: https://bit.ly/3giNBsi
https://news.trust.org/item/20140403102617-cv8xn
Have a listen to the My Climate Journey podcast issue entitled “Mobilizing Gen-Z for Climate Action with Elise Joshi”