Publication: Social Foundations of a Just Coal Transition
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2024-12-16
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2024-12-16
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With climate change causing loss and damage, disrupting nature, and affecting the lives of billions of people, the world has accepted that it cannot achieve carbon dioxide reduction goals without phasing out coal. This paper argues that addressing the broader social dimensions of coal transitions is crucial for success and offers benefits and opportunities for the millions of people affected. It outlines existing literature about anticipated impacts of the transition not just on workers but on people and communities more broadly, such as loss of employment, increased household costs, reduced public investment, mobility and outmigration, mental health, social and cultural identity, and conflict. It also considers the social co-benefits of coal transitions, such as reduced risks to livelihoods, new job opportunities, improvements in health and wellbeing, and social empowerment. Finally, it cautions that the uneven distribution of transition benefits and burdens can exacerbate pre-existing inequalities and systemic marginalization, reproducing the energy sector’s legacy of social exclusion and injustice (Johnson et al. 2020), underlining that social sustainability, alongside economic and environmental sustainability, is vital for advancing a just transition away from coal. The paper offers a framework of upstream interventions to help governments and other actors facilitate inclusive planning, decision-making, and transition management.
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“Jordan, J.; Tenzing, J.. 2024. Social Foundations of a Just Coal Transition. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42538 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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