Just Transition
How to ensure that the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy does not leave workers and communities behind, and what 'just transition' means in practice.
The Transition Challenge
The global shift from fossil fuels to clean energy is essential for climate stability, but it will profoundly disrupt communities and workers who depend on coal, oil, and gas. Coal mining regions in Appalachia, Poland, and South Africa; oil-dependent economies in the Middle East and West Africa; and gas-reliant communities in Russia and Central Asia all face the prospect of economic upheaval. A 'just transition' ensures that the costs of this shift are borne equitably and that no one is left behind.
The concept originated in the American labor movement in the 1990s, when unions recognized that environmental regulations could eliminate jobs in polluting industries. Tony Mazzocchi of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union proposed a 'Superfund for Workers' that would provide full pay and benefits for displaced workers while they retrained. This worker-centered approach was adopted by the international labor movement and eventually entered the Paris Agreement, whose preamble references 'the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce.'
