Just Transition Planning Toolbox

This report, produced by a think tank and an alliance of civil society organizations (CSOs), distills insights from a “listening campaign” across the city that sought to identify priorities for the next mayor of London. More than 700 Londoners from a range of schools, nonprofits, and faith institutions were invited to discuss the issues that mattered most to them and where they wanted to see action. A key theme was how to “build back better” after the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of climate change.

The Institute for Public Policy Research and London Citizens jointly defined a “just transition city” as: “A city which is taking rapid and serious steps towards achieving carbon neutrality and restoring nature, delivered through policies which maximise the opportunities of the transition, promote greater fairness and equality, and which put the needs of the poorest and most excluded first.” Through a series of house meetings hosted by local organizations, followed by a policy workshop, they identified two goals, each with several action points for the incoming mayor:

1. Create 60,000 good green jobs and apprenticeships (employing and training “just transition champions”) over the next mayoral term, focusing on low-income and diverse communities.
2. Work towards ending fuel poverty by 2030, by upgrading 100,000 fuel-poor homes over the next mayoral term, to reduce emissions, improve well-being, and create good green jobs.

This project is an example of community organizing in support of a just transition. Especially in contexts where governments are reluctant to take the initiative, advocacy groups may play a key role in catalyzing dialogue and engaging policy makers.

The Indonesian government has made effort to integrate the broad objectives of just transition, either explicitly or implicitly, in several key national planning documents. The Long-Term Strategy – Low Carbon & Climate Resilience (2021) highlights the linkages between just transition planning and sustainable development planning more broadly, and specifically discusses the issues of just transition of the workforce, gender equality and women’s empowerment, intergenerational equity, and the needs of vulnerable groups, including specifically forest-adjoining communities. The Low Carbon Development Initiative (LCDI) also explicitly refers to a just transition and ensuring “no one is left behind,” also flagging the need for strengthening social protection programs.

The country’s 2021 update to its Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement identifies just transition as a key objective of mitigation and adaptation efforts, and highlights as key themes decent work, gender equity, intergenerational equity, and addressing the needs of vulnerable groups. Indonesia is one of the signatories to the 2018 Silesia Declaration on Just Transition, which emphasizes a just transition for workers and the creation of decent, quality jobs for both men and women, as well as the importance of providing social protection to workers and their families to mitigate any adverse effects of the transition.

Sectoral policies are less explicit, but do still touch on elements of just transitions. The National Energy Plan refers to issues of justice (Art. 1), employment (Art. 6.h & Art. 7), social impacts, and worker safety (Art. 19). Forestry protection efforts such as Program Kampung Iklim, Hutan Desa, Masyarakat Peduli Api, and Desa Peduli Gambut emphasize the importance of community involvement, and local and Indigenous communities are also involved in processes relating to REDD+ and payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs.

This systematic integration of just transition approaches across the policy landscape has helped to increase awareness about the impacts of transitions and to create and reinforce norms, especially across the government, about the importance of just transitions. It has expanded the space for dialogue and planning around the social and economic aspects of a low-carbon transition.

Launched in 2020 by the Labor Network for Sustainability, the Just Transition Listening Project is an example of a process for creating dialogue with different stakeholders, focused on the United States.

Over months, the project gathered stories from more than 100 workers, Indigenous leaders, and community members who were experiencing “extreme changes in their local economy” due to plant closures, automation, company downsizing and market changes, and climate change impacts. Conversations explored what support measures are in place and what is lacking and needed, as well as how people are adjusting to these changes, and their visions for the future.

The stories gathered by the project are shared online, through social media and a series of webinars presenting the perspectives of workers, Indigenous Peoples, the environmental justice movement, and others about transitions and how they can be managed. The project also published its findings and recommendations in a final report, "Workers and Communities in Transition".

The Just Transition Listening Project is not focused on a specific place or sector, but it demonstrates an approach that could be applied in any local context to stimulate stakeholder engagement.

The Just Transition Platform was set up by the European Commission to provide technical support and advice to different stakeholders in regions across Europe that are facing economic transitions. Its functions include:

• Providing support for various activities related to just transitions;
• Promoting the sharing of knowledge and best practices among stakeholders involved in transition processes;
• Serving as an online access point to relevant information, knowledge, and support, including a dedicated helpdesk; and
• Organizing regular events for all stakeholders and gives the floor to financial actors, social partners, business representatives, youth organizations, and transition experts to discuss their challenges and needs relating to the transition.

The fact that this relatively sophisticated and well-resourced platform was created outside individual countries likely has allowed it to circumvent some of the difficult politics that can prevent governments from playing an active role in fostering dialogue on transitions.

Another feature of the European Commission’s approach was that it provided funding for countries to plan just transitions and make investments to support them, which has provided a further incentive for governments and other stakeholders to engage with transition questions. Funding mechanisms include the Just Transition Fund (JTF), the InvestEU scheme and InvestEU Advisory Hub, and a public sector loan facility leveraged by the European Investment Bank (see example in Module 5.2). These mechanisms provide support for economic diversification efforts (e.g. via investments in small and medium-sized enterprises, the creation of new firms, research and innovation, the transformation of existing carbon-intensive assets), environmental rehabilitation, clean energy supply, and initiatives to support workers (e.g. up- and reskilling programs, job search assistance), and for energy and transport infrastructure, including gas infrastructure and district heating. Financial support must align with the framework of Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs), so dialogue and planning must happen in order to access funding.

This report (in Section 7) summarizes the results of an exercise to understand how the idea of “just transition” is understood by Kenyan stakeholders in sectors that will be affected by policies to support a transition to a low-carbon economy.

Interviews were conducted particularly with workers who are today engaged in the energy, transport, or waste management sectors, such as charcoal vendors, paraffin vendors, customer service agents, petrol station workers, drivers, conductors, stage managers, route marshals, and public service vehicle owners. The interviews were used to understand whether workers were aware of climate change and its impacts, particularly on their day-to-day work, and to discuss perceptions of how government policies promoting a transition might affect their livelihoods. Interviews also discussed what measures workers might be able to take to minimize any adverse impacts on their livelihoods, as well as what support measures might be needed from the government.

The exercise revealed that, while some energy and transport sector participants had a basic awareness about climate change, other people whose livelihoods could be directly affected by transition did not know about it at all and the majority did not see any relationship between climate change and their work. Those who were aware that climate change could affect their work did not have knowledge of alternative livelihood opportunities. The insights are useful for planners, but the example also highlights the value of a process of engaging with workers and building their awareness of impending changes.

In 2018, the Canadian government announced it would phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030. At the same time, it established the Canadian Task Force for Community Dialogue, made up of 11 representatives from industry, labor unions, coal communities, and environmental organizations.

In order to learn about communities’ concerns and perceived support needs, the Task Force visited 15 communities across four provinces, meeting with potentially affected workers and their families as well as employers, labor unions, community and local business representatives, economic development and non-governmental organizations, and local, provincial, and national government representatives. It hosted various public engagement sessions; visited power stations, mines, and a port; and received written input from other individuals and organizations.

Discussions centered on the socioeconomic importance of coal in each province, the likely impacts of the decision to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired electricity, elements of transition planning that were already underway, stakeholder perceptions of the existing funding and support systems available to help workers and communities with the transition, and any perceived gaps in planning, policies, or support.

Insights gathered by the Task Force were then used to feed recommendations into the national government’s development of a just transition plan.

This is an example of a government-initiated process to bring local stakeholders into open dialogue about transitions, illustrating a method of direct engagement by a multi-stakeholder group, on the ground, in communities that will be affected.