A systemic process to move towards economies and societies that are socially just, environmentally sustainable, and rooted in participation, equity and care
A just energy transition is the process of shifting to a low-carbon, clean-energy economy in a way that is economically and socially equitable and inclusive, especially in terms of labor market outcomes, community wellbeing, and fair distribution of opportunities, benefits and burdens across socioeconomic groups, sectors and regions. It goes beyond technology or emissions targets to explicitly integrate justice, environmental impact, education and training, employment, and economic opportunity into how the energy transition unfolds and affects current and future generations.
A just energy transition will:
- Transform energy systems by moving away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy and low-carbon technologies
- Increase equity and fairness, particularly through ensuring that benefits (jobs, investment, access) and burdens (job losses, restructuring) are shared fairly and support is provided to those who will find change the most difficult
- Address how workers currently employed in high-emissions industries are affected (managing job losses through retraining, new opportunities, and social protections)
- Encourage inclusive governance that engages workers, communities, and stakeholders in decision-making
- Acknowledge and be responsive to the different challenges for Global South nations and the need for resources to flow from the Global North.
Just labor market transitions project
This 2025 project brought together around 30 experts from a wide variety of countries and backgrounds in a policy dialogue [link to engagement page] process which identified a toolkit of policies, from active labor market policies to social protections and cross cutting finance. Read more about this process in our success stories [link to collaborative thinking on just... page].
The dialogue resulted in an article in Nature Communications on overcoming five key challenges to make the energy transition a just labor transition. A recording about this work is on YouTube.