As the urgency of climate action intensifies and countries advance towards their net-zero commitments, the socially regressive and unequal impacts of the energy transition are becoming increasingly visible. Workers in carbon-intensive industries and entire communities dependent on income from the fossil fuel industry face vulnerabilities and existing regional inequalities at risk being exacerbated. There is a need to design transition policies with equity considerations at the forefront. The Just Transition can be defined as the idea that justice and equity must be centered in the transition towards a net-zero future to minimize the harmful impacts of such a transition on workers and communities. While the Just Transition has gained prominence in international climate discourse, current interpretations remain narrow, primarily emphasizing labor protections. To ensure that the transition to a net-zero future is truly just, policymakers must adopt more holistic, transformative approaches that focus on a broader range of affected communities and address systemic inequalities.
While the concept of the Just Transition first emerged out of the labour movement, Just Transition research and strategies span many academic and professional fields, including geography, energy, economics, labour, and policy. The emergence of the concept can be linked back to Tony Mazzocchi, a member of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers’ Union (OCAW) who worked at the oil company Shell in the 1970s and, acknowledging the environmental harm taking place, led the first environmental strike. By the turn of the century, the concept had expanded from a narrower focus on environmental and social justice within hazardous industries to include the entire economy and those indirectly affected by the energy transition. Despite the internationalization of the concept and its presence in the Paris Agreement, stakeholders still interpret the just transition in varying ways.
A labour-oriented view of the Just Transition still remains dominant, with international agreements referring to the Just Transition in terms of workers rights and green jobs. This view stresses the importance of providing compensation to former coal or oil workers, retraining and reskilling workers, and preparing workers for jobs in the renewable sector. Retraining workers is key, as the green jobs skill gap presents a major barrier to a swift transition given the limited supply of skilled labour fit for jobs in the renewable sector.
This view excludes other stakeholders and beneficiaries though, such as communities, consumers, and businesses. A labour-focused view has also been weaponized by the fossil fuel industry and politicians to delay the energy transition, framing it as harmful to working-class and frontline communities. For example, Donald Trump cited its impact on coal workers to justify withdrawing from the Paris Agreement in 2017, while Brazil used similar reasoning to justify extending coal production for 18 years. Although there have been efforts to broaden the concept—as a justice framework, governance strategy, and socio-technical transition—most current approaches remain limited in scope
Approaches to the Just Transition diverge in their vision of how transformative and disruptive of a transition is required for it to be truly just. The status quo approach to the Just Transition is the most commonly represented in policies, which can be seen as a corporate-driven approach or the “greening of capitalism”, born out of private-sector recognition of the risks of climate change and the business opportunities of a green economy. The managerial approach aligns with the labour-oriented conception of the Just Transition, by seeking greater justice within the current economic system, with a focus on workers and the workplace. The structural approach seeks deeper equity by aiming to secure both procedural and distributive justice, meaning that solutions are not solely created through existing dominant institutions, but are the result of equitable and inclusive decision-making.
Lastly, a transformative approach involves a fundamental shift in the current unjust economic and political systems underlying environmental and social issues, including dismantling interconnected systems of oppression and altering the way we approach human-environment relations. A review of Just Transition Policies around the world found that most contained a status quo approach, then a managerial, next structural, and least commonly, a transformative approach. Given that a status quo or managerial approach is unlikely to protect frontline communities against the negative economic impacts of the transition, it is critical that policymakers adopt more holistic approaches within Just Transition policy design that address the root causes of environmental and economic injustice.
The increasing presence of Just Transition strategies and goals in international climate agreements and national action plans is a promising step towards aligning environmental goals with social justice. Yet, the persistence of narrow, labor-focused interpretations and the dominance of status quo approaches risk reproducing existing inequalities and leaving vulnerable communities behind. In 2023, 45 NDCs referenced the Just Transition, up from just one in 2015, a sharp increase and recognition. However, only 9% included concrete implementation plans, revealing a major gap between commitment and action. A 2022 progress report further found that just 29% of parties planned to address decarbonisation’s unequal impacts, and only 3% considered its effects on poverty, jobs, and vulnerable groups.While the discourse around the Just Transition is growing, this has yet to materialize into measurable, binding strategies and goals.
Looking forward, Just Transition strategies must be expanded to reflect the diversity of those affected by a shift to a low-carbon economy and commitments must be accompanied by concrete, measurable action plans and evaluation frameworks. Only through such comprehensive and transformative approaches can the transition to a net-zero future truly be just and effectively deliver benefits to all communities.
Larkin Dennison
Larkin Dennison is an environmental sustainability professional with over three years of experience in sustainability strategy, international development, and circular economy programming. Currently pursuing an MSc in Environment and Development at the London School of Economics, her studies have included climate change policy, inclusive economic growth, the just transition, and sustainable urban planning. Her work atPyxeraGlobal includes designing cross-sector partnerships, evaluating sustainability metrics, and driving corporate social responsibility initiatives. Larkin holds a B.A. in Political Economy from UC Berkeley and has earned certificates in sustainability and quantitative research from the Harvard Extension School. Herexpertisespans policy research, program management, and stakeholder engagement, with a particular focus on circular economy and cross-sector partnerships.
