What is Just Transition? 

A fair climate future demands transitions that protect people, workers, and communities everywhere.

The concept of a just transition has a long history and has been applied by activists, labour unions, and associated groups dating back to the early 1970s in North America. The idea was created to reconcile the need for good work with the need to increase environmental protection. The concept offers a simple way to discuss protecting workers and communities as harmful industries are phased out, while ensuring the emerging green economy provides decent jobs, enhances well-being, and reduces growing social and economic inequalities. 

It has since broadened and found particular traction in the climate change context. Human-induced climate change is affecting everyone living on Earth, with countless impacts on ecosystems, human health, economies and societies at large, including extreme weather events, a decrease in available freshwater or an increase in ocean and surface temperatures. But the impacts are uneven, reflecting the existing inequalities in societies, and so are the impacts of the mitigation and adaptation actions.  

Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas—are the main driver of global climate change, producing about 68% of greenhouse gases and nearly 90% of carbon dioxide emissions. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere, causing the planet to warm faster than ever recorded. Rising temperatures disrupt weather patterns and the natural balance, creating serious risks for people and ecosystems. Phasing out fossil fuel energy sources in favour of a low- or zero-carbon system is therefore the cornerstone of mitigation measures. For example, the European Union aims to be climate-neutral by 2050, having an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. A legally binding objective protected in the European Climate Law.  

Phasing out fossil fuel energy sources in favour of a low- or zero-carbon system is therefore the cornerstone of mitigation measures.

However, closing down fossil fuel plants and expanding renewable energy, despite its environmental and economic benefits, does not automatically make the world more just. The transition to low-carbon societies can exacerbate existing inequalities and even create new instances of inequality if the actions are not designed with justice in mind.  

In this context, the term “just transition” has been growing in the discussions and research around climate change impacts and mitigation. The importance of the just transition is recognised at the international level through its inclusion in the 2015 Paris Agreement. But there is no universally agreed-upon definition of or framework for just transitions. In the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Report glossary, the just transition is defined as “a set of principles, processes and practices that aim to ensure that no people, workers, places, sectors, countries or regions are left behind in the transition from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy”.  

There are other definitions, like the one from the International Labour Organization (ILO), which defines it this way: “Greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.”  

There is also the working definition from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) that defines the Just Transition as “an approach that seeks to ensure that the shift to a low-carbon future is fair, equitable, and inclusive – leaving no one behind”. This definition highlights that the just transition “brings together environmental sustainability with social and economic justice through an integrated set of actions aimed at advancing social progress, protecting and empowering workers, fostering environmental consciousness and responsibility, and promoting economic success.” 

Guiding principles for a Just Transition 

A successful just transition depends on strong local participation, backed by government support for financial and social protection, and aligned with national development priorities. For that, UNECE, through a collaborative effort, has developed the Guiding Principles for Just Transition. The guide provides a framework for implementing a Just Energy Transition that is equitable, sustainable, and inclusive.  

The six pillars essential for the overall just transition framework, as highlighted by UNECE, are Social Progress and Protection; Workers’ Protection and Empowerment; Environmental Consciousness & Responsibility; Economic Success; Participatory Governance; and Institutional Support. 

Even if the perception of the term does vary between countries and regions, what is clear is that the just transition terms include various dimensions of inequality, vulnerability and opportunity. And by taking justice considerations into account, transition policies are more likely to limit social and political resistance, win a broad consensus, and achieve effective implementation. 

These perceptions translate into policies and strategies like Spain’s Just Transition Strategy, designed to manage the impacts of decarbonisation on regions and people whose livelihoods depend on activities that will be phased out during the transition. The strategy developed within the framework of the EU Just Transition Mechanism focuses on employment creation, upskilling and reskilling, promoting economic diversification based on local resources and supporting vulnerable groups such as women, youth, rural populations and traditionally marginalised communities. The Elcano survey results on the extent to which Spanish citizens support the allocation of public funds to just adaptation and just transition showed that 70% of citizens support such an allocation. 

On a smaller scale, projects like RESIST are putting forward the just transition framework along with the just resilience with citizen’s dialogues to bring together citizens and institutions together. That is what the project is facilitating in Terrassa, a city nearby Barcelona, where after an anthropological research, the RESIST team organized citizen’s dialogues creating a space where shared concerns could be discussed openly and collaborative ideas could emerge. Participants proposed ideas to tackle concerns related to climate change impacts that local politicians will integrate to make the climate adaptation pathways more just and fair.