Mapping Just Transition(s) to a Low-Carbon World

Organization(s): UNRISD
Author: Diego Azzi, Dimitris Stevis, Dunja Krause, Edouard Morena, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, Nicole Helmerich, Rebecca Shelton, Vivian Price
Country: Brazil, Canada, Germany, Kenya, South Africa, United States of America
Year: 2018
Language: English
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Just Transition—the idea that justice and equity must form an integral part of the transition towards a low-carbon world—is increasingly being mobilized both to counter the idea that protecting the environment and protecting jobs are incompatible, and to broaden the debate to justice-related issues such as the kinds of jobs and societies we envision for the future.

From its origins in the labour movement in the United States, Just Transition has evolved and spread to other geographies and constituencies, from environmental justice groups to the international trade union movement, international organizations, the private sector and—since its inclusion in the preamble of the Paris Agreement—global, national and subnational policy circles.

This report, by the Just Transition Research Collaborative (JTRC), unpacks the different understandings, narratives and framings of Just Transition that underpin the concept’s growing popularity and uptake. Six short country case studies then provide insights into how Just Transition is—or is not—being mobilized on the ground.

The report suggests ways that Just Transition can inform policy discussions on the role of equity and justice in the shift towards a low-carbon world, and calls for a progressive interpretation of Just Transition to promote transformative change and climate justice for all.

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