community development – Just Transition Initiative

Summary

This report from the Just Transition Centre describes various concepts and principles of just transitions, using case studies from around the world to analyze the roles key stakeholders can play.

With social dialogue and social protection as its main principles, the International Labor Organization (ILO) definition of just transition serves as a bridge to the future where “all jobs are green and decent, poverty is eradicated, and communities are thriving and resilient,” as defined by the ILO. This report examines the potential role for various stakeholders depending on the scale of a transition. Drawing from several case studies, the report offers examples in which social dialogue has been key, including the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power facility in California and the wind sector transition in Denmark.

The report further acknowledges gaps in these transitions, such as a lack of appropriate government policies, funds, and structures that make it difficult for workers, employers, and communities to move forward. The author offers recommendations to help achieve both Paris Agreement targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including making a strong commitment to social dialogue.

Summary

This academic paper investigates citizens’ perceptions of the energy transition and the kinds of roles they see themselves playing in its implementation. Through a series of cross-sectional community engagements and other research tools, the authors seek to describe how local communities can become empowered to drive project development and engage meaningfully in the low-carbon energy transition.

The authors examined six communities in five European countries. Participants felt that, as citizens, they had limited agency to participate in energy system reforms and that, as energy consumers, they were locked into a restricted set of false choices that do not grant them meaningful power.

The authors call for energy governance structures and organizational formats that are participatory, inclusive, and mindful of the lived experiences of local people. They offer a “characterization tool” to help communities assess the potential for energy democracy and citizen participation within six different types of participatory business models. They also offer recommendations for how these models can incorporate citizens’ perspectives into planning and implementation, using examples to illustrate how considering a broader range of stakeholder perspectives can promote more equitable energy configurations.