Energy Policy – Just Transition Initiative

Summary

The authors suggest that the implications of place attachment and loss in generational coal mining communities are currently underexamined in the energy transition discourse, by using the example of a coal community in New South Wales, Australia. The paper identifies the relationship between coal mining and the generational identity of this community, thereby adding a useful perspective to the energy transition discourse by highlighting how the hidden dimensions of loss can reinforce the local support of an extractive industry. By combining scholarship on the emotionality of the minescape with the work on how place attachment can translate into feelings of loss in response to material change, they suggest that the factors of time and place can make community-level actors within the energy landscape either receptive or resistant to change.

This work thus highlights how the place-industry relationship is inherently emotional and irrational, thereby calling for a greater acknowledgement of this emotional dimension to address issues of conflict related to the extractive industry productively. The authors suggest that, while not all that is valuable can be preserved, transition strategies could be better served by exploring ways in which the intangible associations with place—identity and attachment—can be maintained at the community level in the face of material changes in the physical environment. The lessons from the paper have the potential to be applied to the context of transitions in other coal communities where transition planning is under way.

Summary

This paper examines how community-led campaigns rooted in environmental justice and local interests successfully disrupted the long-term dominance of fossil fuel interests in the Hunter Valley region of Australia. The authors argue that these campaigns would benefit from engaging with the labor community through the just transitions discourse, which offers common ground for all stakeholders.

The authors chronicle the long dominance of the fossil fuel industry’s interests in Australian government and society and discuss the origins of two community-led campaigns in Hunter Valley: Stop T4 Coal Export Terminal and Groundswell. They argue that these sorts of social movements, which are framed around environmental justice and just transitions, can serve as a unifying force against the hegemonic power of the coal industry. By examining how different types of unions align with the practices and principles of just transitions, they provide insights into the challenges and opportunities for such campaigns to engage the labor community effectively.

The authors conclude with lessons learned, highlighting insights from the closure of former steelwork factories in the 1990s. They reiterate the potential benefits of increased collaboration with labor and community actors for environmental justice and just transition campaigns.