Just Transitions: Social Justice in the Shift Towards a Low-Carbon World

In the field of 'climate change', no terrain goes uncontested. The terminological tug of war between activists and corporations, scientists and governments has seen potentially radical notions of 'sustainability' emptied of urgency and subordinated to the interests of big business. 'Just Transition' is the latest such battleground, and the conceptual keystone of the post-COP21 climate policy world. But what does it really mean? Just Transition emerged as a framework developed within the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' jobs and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production. Adopted now in the political mainstream, Just Transitions draws on case studies from the global North and South to interrogate the overlaps, synergies and tensions between various understandings of the Just Transition approach. Has it has lost its radical edge, and if so, can it be recovered? Written by academics, activists and specialists from around the globe, this unique edited collection is the first book entirely devoted to Just Transition. Making a robust, distinctive intervention into the debate around tackling climate change, Just Transitions points to a framework that still offers a narrative of hope.

Edouard Morena is a Lecturer in French and European Politics at the University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP). Co-coordinator of the Just Transition Research Collaborative (JTRC), his research focuses on social and justice issues in the international climate regime through the study of different non-state actors’ involvement in the UNFCCC.