This regional transition strategy is focused on the economic, social and environmental development of the Jiu Valley out to 2030, in the context of decline in the region’s coal mining industry. Its guiding structure are four pillars – Accessibility, mobility and connectivity; Economic diversification, innovation and entrepreneurship, including by capitalizing on the local assets, skills and economic activities and promotion of economic diversification and innovation; Capitalizing sustainably on the local attributes of the area, through development of tourism, local crafts industries, and highlighting the region’s historical heritage and traditions; and improvement in quality of life for the region’s residents, including by developing skills that enable people to access to new jobs and secure better living conditions, improved social assistance where needed, along with strengthening the education sector.
The strategy identifies some key values that should guide development of Jiu Valley. Among these is inclusivity, meaning a wide range of local stakeholders must be able to participate in planning and influence decisions, and encouraging local communities to a source of innovation. Transparency in planning and implementation is also highlighted, along with the importance of fostering close cooperation between local authorities and the community representations, the local university, the local business community, and NGOs active in the region. Sustainability on social, economic and environmental dimensions is also a key value to guide decisions.
The strategy also establishes a range of overall objectives for transition. These include: promoting equal living conditions and job opportunities for all people in local communities; supporting miners whose jobs are at risk with professional requalification, and more broadly ensuring the local communities have the skills to participate in the new labour market; and achieving mine closure and reconversion in a way that supports the region’s economic development strategy and ensures no ongoing risks to people’s health.
As a method to help define what is meant by a ‘just transition’ in the Welsh context, the Welsh Government commissioned work to identify lessons from the approaches taken by other countries and explore the frameworks they have used.
The analysis looked specifically at four questions:
- How is a just transition defined internationally? How has the concept of a just transition evolved in recent years?
- What are the main approaches taken to a just transition across the world?
- How does the just transition approach to decarbonisation compare with an environmental justice approach?
- How do international approaches align with the lens of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (WBFGA), and how might these shape the WBFGA as a just transition framework for Wales?
Among its insights, the report highlights the lesson from other countries’ approaches that, for a just transition to be most effective, it should be embedded in a wide range of policies and not considered simply an add-on to climate policies.
The Scottish Government’s framework for just transition identifies as its key intended outcomes:
- Citizens, communities and place: support affected regions by empowering and invigorating communities and strengthening local economies;
- Jobs, skills and education: equip people with the skills, education and retraining required to support retention and creation of access to green, fair and high-value work;
- Fair distribution of costs and benefits: address existing economic and social inequality by sharing the benefits of climate action widely, while ensuring that the costs are distributed on the basis of ability to pay;
- Business and Economy: support a strong, dynamic and productive economy which creates wealth and high quality employment across Scotland, upholds the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and continues to make Scotland a great place to do business;
- Adaptation and resilience: identify key risks from climate change and set out actions to build resilience to these risks, ensuring our economy is flexible, adaptable and responsive to the changing climate;
- Environmental protection and restoration: commit to act within our planetary boundaries while protecting and restoring our natural environment;
- Decarbonization and efficiencies: contribute to resource efficient and sustainable economic approaches that actively encourage decarbonization, support low-carbon investment and infrastructure, and avoid carbon ‘lock-in’;
- Further equality and human rights implementation and preventing new inequalities from arising: address fuel poverty and child poverty in a manner consistent with Scotland’s statutory targets on each, while furthering wider equality and human rights across all protected characteristics.
It also specifies a set of key principles to guide planning. These are broad and, in addition to encouraging decarbonization and avoiding carbon lock in, focus efforts on addressing the regional economic impacts of change, employment impacts, effects on local businesses, environmental restoration needs, as well as addressing wider socioeconomic inequality.
A 'co-designed' planning process is also envisaged, so that many different groups are directly involved, ensuring diversity and inclusion.
The Framework for Just Transition put forward by South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission aims to bring coordination and coherence to transition planning, by setting out a shared vision, principles to guide the transition, and policies and governance arrangements to give it effect.
As a foundation for transition planning, it specifically highlights various rights set out in South Africa’s constitution, including democratic and political rights, socio-economic rights (e.g., relating to shelter, health care, food, water and social services) and collective development rights (e.g., environment and sustainable development, rights to collective organization and economic activities, rights of cultural and linguistic communities). It also specifically calls on various principles enshrined in the National Environment Management Act (1998), including putting human development concerns at the center of decision making, producer and polluter responsibility, equitable access to environmental resources, and equipping people to participate in decision making. The Framework for Just Transition builds further on these by defining several principles as underpinning a just transition towards an environmentally sustainable economy and society in South Africa: distributive justice, restorative justice, and procedural justice.
Distributive justice means fair distribution of the risks and benefits of transition. The Framework highlights how, in the South African context, this can be embodied: by equipping South Africans with skills, assets, and opportunities to participate in industries of the future, with particular attention on impacted groups, the poor, women, people with disabilities, and the youth; by implementing transformative national economic and social policies that clearly consider how benefits and burdens will be distributed (e.g. where jobs are gained, where jobs are lost, and the quality and longevity of future employment); by increasing provincial and local resources and skills to promote local economic development; and by ensuring corporate responsibility to support a green and inclusive economy.
Restorative justice is interpreted as addressing the various historical damages against individuals, communities, and the environment. The Framework suggests this can be embodied: by acknowledging the health and environmental impacts to communities in coal and other fossil fuel impacted areas, and supporting all South Africans’ constitutional rights to a healthy environment; by shifting away from resource intensive sectors and fossil fuels to improve ecosystems with community ownership and stewardship, improve energy security and eliminate energy poverty, and create opportunities for rehabilitation of degraded land, air sheds, and water systems, and improve the situation for biodiversity; by creating a more decentralized, net-zero emissions economy, which allows for greater economic inclusion, ownership, and participation, especially for women and the youth; and by promoting equitable access to environmental resources, land redistribution and Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment while remedying past harms.
Procedural Justice is interpreted as empowering workers, communities, and small businesses to define their own development pathways and livelihoods, and can be embodied in South Africa: by assisting communities to understand what the just transition entails, specifically, and discuss points of agreement and disagreement openly and transparently; by supporting worker and community organizations (including labour unions) to participate actively in transition policy-making processes; by collaborating actively with a range of stakeholders, through inclusive and participatory decision-making structures; and by supporting the design and implementation of just transition projects, as proposed by individuals and communities in affected areas.
This regional transition strategy is focused on the economic, social and environmental development of the Jiu Valley out to 2030, in the context of decline in the region’s coal mining industry. Its guiding structure are four pillars – Accessibility, mobility and connectivity; Economic diversification, innovation and entrepreneurship, including by capitalizing on the local assets, skills and economic activities and promotion of economic diversification and innovation; Capitalizing sustainably on the local attributes of the area, through development of tourism, local crafts industries, and highlighting the region’s historical heritage and traditions; and improvement in quality of life for the region’s residents, including by developing skills that enable people to access to new jobs and secure better living conditions, improved social assistance where needed, along with strengthening the education sector.
The strategy identifies some key values that should guide development of Jiu Valley. Among these is inclusivity, meaning a wide range of local stakeholders must be able to participate in planning and influence decisions, and encouraging local communities to a source of innovation. Transparency in planning and implementation is also highlighted, along with the importance of fostering close cooperation between local authorities and the community representations, the local university, the local business community, and NGOs active in the region. Sustainability on social, economic and environmental dimensions is also a key value to guide decisions.
The strategy also establishes a range of overall objectives for transition. These include: promoting equal living conditions and job opportunities for all people in local communities; supporting miners whose jobs are at risk with professional requalification, and more broadly ensuring the local communities have the skills to participate in the new labour market; and achieving mine closure and reconversion in a way that supports the region’s economic development strategy and ensures no ongoing risks to people’s health.