A Socio-Ecological Contract for a Post-Pandemic Europe
To truly recover in the years ahead, Europe will need a new socio-ecological contract bringing together questions of inequality, climate and the digital economy.
just transition
Revolutionary Power: Excerpt
We must view the battle for the design of the new, clean energy system through the same lens we use to view broader struggles for economic and civil rights.
Diné grassroots sow precedent in clean energy history
Nicole Horseherder was glad to receive the news of Arizona Public Service Company’s proposed Just and Equitable Transition assistance package to the Navajo Nation.
Is 2020 the Opening for a Just Transition?
As the U.S. considers how to reopen, stimulate, and recover its economy post-pandemic, how radically could it be reimagined?
It’s time for states that grew rich from oil, gas and coal to figure out what’s next
The idea of a just transition emerged from North American labor law, and has become part of international discussions about making societies more environmentally sustainable.
Governments Must Support a Just Transition for Oil Workers and their Communities
As demand for fossil fuel plummets, education, job creation and other support is critical to save millions of oil industry employees and their communities from collapse.
Are You Thinking About Climate Change Wrong?
Because beyond whether we achieve everything in the vision for a Green New Deal or not, it is inspiring that young people do not view climate change as a pass/fail test. For them, failure is not an option. Instead, the question is: how transformative will our success be?
Net Out of Jail Free
You would have thought the time for obfuscation is over. But there’s a new game in town for those who still think there’s time left for business as usual. It’s called ‘net zero by 2050’ and its prevalence shows how many of those with power and influence still don’t really ‘get’ climate change.
Who Owns the Green New Deal?
So, what about this Green New Deal (GND)? Is it merely the old wine of capitalist growth-driven development in a new bottle, or is it a recipe for socio-political and socio-ecological transformation that will right past wrongs and reshuffle political power in favor of historically disempowered people? Any Green New Deal (GND) framed as a “just transition” has to address problems of remote ownership and empower place-based governance.
Dethroning King Coal – How a Once Dominant Fuel Source is Falling Rapidly from Favour
Electricity fuelled by coal is experiencing a record decline. 2019 is expected to show the biggest fall yet, after decades of increases. An accelerated move away from coal is imperative to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement. Coal currently accounts for 38.5% of the global power mix and generates 46% of global CO2 emissions.
The Just Transition, Economic Democracy, and the Green New Deal
Two recent books takeup the challenges of radical social and institutional transformation to make a GND maximally effective. One outlines the requirements for a maximally participatory democracy, but raises questions about its ideological valences; the other outlines a multilayered effort in one US city, leaving us with questions about organizational capacity to pull off the GND. Inasmuch as these works draw mainly on non-US examples, they magnify the challenges that remain here.
Blue Collar Workers: Let’s Support the Green New Deal
To win the GND, it’s going to take a broad, deep and diverse political alliance. Workers need a strong voice in this alliance, and by being a part of that, we can speak up for our issues.