Delivering a Just Transition for All - 27-29 October 2020 28th EEAC Annual Conference - EEAC Network
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Delivering a Just
Transition for All
28th EEAC
Annual Conference
27–29 October 2020
DUBLIN CASTLE, IRELAND
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28th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Contents
‘Delivering a Just Transition for All’
28th EEAC Annual Conference 27–29th October 2020
Joint Foreword 2
Delivering A Just Transition: Conference Insights 4
Insight 1: Vision & Definitions of Justice 7
Insight 2: Shared Resources and Systems Thinking 10
Insight 3: Social Dialogue and Participatory Processes 11
Insight 4: Change and Resilience 12
Insight 5: Towards the Elements of a Blueprint 14
Appendix: Overview of Conference Sessions 15
Day 1: Tuesday, 27 October 2020 16
Opening Session A: Just Transition—Principles and Mission:
What is a fair, inclusive and equitable green transition and why do we need it? 16
Session B: Learning from Just Transition Practices and Institutions 19
Closing Session 23
Day 2: Wednesday, 28 October 2020 24
Session C: Levers to Drive a Just Transition 24
Session D: Levers to Drive a Just Transition 32
Day 3: Thursday, 29 October 2020 43
Session E: Participatory Processes for a Fair and Inclusive Transition
What role for Commissions, Councils and Social Dialogue? 44
Session F: What Next for Just Transition Mission, Process & Practice in the context of Covid-19? 48
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28th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Joint Foreword
The European Green Deal commits the European The conference was hosted online by one of the The conference was hosted in extraordinary circumstances. The Conference was enthusiastically supported by EEAC
Union to a transformation to a sustainable, two Irish EEAC member organisations—the National Due to the pandemic and the restrictions on social interaction members and we would, in particular like to thank the
Economic and Social Council (NESC). Its recent and travel, the entire event was transferred online and Chairs of the Spotlight Session: Professor Anna Davies,
inclusive, thriving net zero economy and
work Addressing Employment Vulnerability as Part hosted online over three days from 27-29 October 2020. Jan Verheeke, Dr Luc Boot, Dr Nathalie Boucquey and
society. Ireland’s Programme for Government: of a Just Transition in Ireland (NESC Report No: 149, It was an exciting and unique conference, which took place Dr Hannah Janetschek and their relevant councils.
Our Shared Future 2020 shares that ambition. March 2020) sets out a vision for Ireland in 2050: in the midst of transformative change. It provided a forum
for a diverse mix of European and Irish advisory councils, Finally, we would like to thank environmental scientist
The 28th Annual Conference of the European ur vision for Ireland is to become a resilient, sustainable,
O their stakeholders, international experts, policymakers and Dr Cara Augustenborg for effectively facilitating
Network of Environment and Sustainable thriving net zero economy, environment and society, practitioners to reflect on what a just transition means, this event and Sinead Mercier for her work as
using innovation and collective preparedness to and to share perspectives, experiences and practices on conference rapporteur and author of this report.
Development Advisory Councils (EEAC) focused
shape the future we want to achieve. It is a vision how it was shaping policy and practices. It also provided
on how the principles of justice, fairness, equality for an Ireland where the State plays its part in space to develop a common understanding and concrete We look forward to welcoming you to Barcelona in
and equity of a just transition can act as a ensuring mission-oriented actions to achieve a high- strategies for making progress towards the wider just October for the 29th Annual EEAC Conference.
lever and guide to shape policies and practices quality jobs economy, and productively addresses transition, a low-carbon economy, and the fulfilment of
to deliver the transformation required. employment vulnerability as part of a just transition. the central promise of the 2030 Agenda—to ‘leave no
one behind’ and ‘reach the most vulnerable first’.
This vision framed discussions at the conference as speakers
from Ireland, the European Union and other regions focused An enormous effort was required to successfully host a
on the opportunities and challenges involved in making conference of this scale. We would like to thank Martin
such a vision and ambition a reality in member states. The Fraser and Elizabeth Canavan, Department of the Taoiseach
conference was also framed by, and was deeply aware of, the and Chair and Vice-Chair of NESC; the Organising Dr Larry O’Connell
extraordinary response to the pandemic and the impact this Committee in NESC: Dr Jeanne Moore, Sinéad Nic Coitir, Director of NESC
was and could have on the transition to a low-carbon economy. Edna Jordan and Paula Hennelly. We would also like to
thank Michiel de Vries of the EEAC Secretariat for his
The conference included a truly inspiring and motivational contribution to the organisation of the conference. Thanks
keynote address titled ‘Delivering A Just Transition For All’ also to Spotlight Session Chairs: Dr Damian Thomas and
by the President of Ireland, Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael Professor Sinéad O’Flanagan, NESC Council member
D. Higgins. We are very grateful for this contribution. and NESC Secretariat member Dr Cathal Fitzgerald. Our
The conference included a mix of keynote speakers, panel thanks to the professional services of the digital marketing
discussions and spotlight sessions with experts, academics, company, Verve, in supporting us to host this event online.
community groups, government, councils and policymakers. Arnau Queralt Bassa
We would like to acknowledge the support, and indeed input Chairman of the EEAC Network
at the conference, of the Minister for the Environment, Climate
and Communications and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan
T.D. and for his Department’s financial support for NESC’s
work on sustainable development, including this conference.
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28th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Delivering A Just Transition:
Conference Insights BOX 1:
‘Delivering a Just Transition for All’
In November 2019, the European Parliament declared a The EGD takes inspiration from trade union and Keynote Address from the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins
climate emergency, asking the European Commission environmental campaigns in the United States, which
to adapt all its proposals in line with keeping global proposed a Green New Deal response to the 2008
warming below a 1.5°C target. In response, President economic crash. This in turn was inspired by the 1930s The President Michael D. Higgins praised NESC’s recent hosting a conference on the topic of a ‘Just Transition
Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the European Green New Deal response to the Great Depression, based report and foundation for the conference Addressing for All’ amidst the current response to the pandemic:
Deal (EGD), a roadmap for Europe becoming a climate- on Keynesian economics as opposed to austerity. Employment Vulnerability as Part of a Just Transition in
neutral continent by 2050. The EGD sets the development Ireland (March 2020) as equivalent in significance to the It is difficult to overstate the importance of this
priorities of the European Union (EU), including: A major plank of the EGD is a new EU Climate Law which seminal ‘Whitaker Report’ and its connection to Ireland’s conference, given that it is taking place as we
sets a legally binding climate-neutral EU target by 2050. First Programme for Economic Expansion 1958 to 1963: continue to deal with a pandemic that is having
• European Green Deal Investment plan The EGD also raises the 2030 interim target from a 40 such devastating personal, social and economic
to a 55 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 compared to We have available to us in NESC No.149 a consequences. Your conference represents the
• Circular economy action plan
1990 levels. In October 2020, the European Parliament methodology and a process that can speed our taking of a unique opportunity to engage, in terms
• EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 increased this 2030 target to 60 per cent. To address efforts [to tackle Covid-19 and climate transitions], of adequacy and courage, with the theory, empirical
the social, economic and environmental impacts of the combining the fruits of consensus and meticulous research, policy and practice relating to one of the
• Farm to Fork Strategy
transition, the EGD proposes a Just Transition Mechanism research as a basis for policy advice. The challenges most critical challenges in contemporary public policy:
• Just Transition Mechanism and Just Transition Fund to support adaptation for the identified by the report endure beyond the current how are we to ensure, within principles of inclusivity,
worst-affected workers and communities. The EU’s crisis, and I repeat my sincere hope that this that we move towards a net-zero economy and
• European Industrial Strategy
Covid-19 recovery plan follows the EGD in its aim to lay the valuable work, with its commitment to the principles society across Europe, towards such a transformation
foundations for a sustainable and climate-neutral Europe, of equality, participation and protection of the as will result in regenerated soils, protected
allocating 25 per cent of the EU’s budget to climate action. marginalised, is made central to our future thinking… biodiversity and oceans, and a thriving circular
economy—adjustments, all of which are so urgently
Against this backdrop the 28th EEAC Annual Conference …Covid-19 has resulted in huge suffering and necessary if we are to avoid ecological catastrophe.
set out to explore the implications and practicalities tragedy around the globe, but it has occasioned
of ‘Delivering a Just Transition for All’. However, what is a near-widespread agreement on the necessity
meant by a ‘just transition’? The working definition used of public spending, and of a fundamentally new
during the conference, was that used by International socially, economically and ecologically sustainable
Institute for Sustainable Development, namely: future. For us in Ireland, the NESC report is surely an
invaluable departure point for deliberative dialogue
A just energy transition is a negotiated vision and process on how we can best do this with the most favourable
centred on dialogue, supported by a set of guiding outcome for all. It offers a solid framework for
principles, to shift practices in energy production and ongoing discussion, but also the necessary action
consumption. It aims to minimise negative impacts on that can garner public support from all concerned.
workers and communities with stakes in high-carbon
sectors that will wind down, and to maximise positive
opportunities for new decent jobs in the low-carbon growth
sectors of the future. It strives to ensure that the costs
and benefits of the transition are equitably shared.1
The keynote speech at the conference, by the President
of Ireland, pinpoints the just transition approach as
originating from the trade union movement (Box 1).
———————
IISD (2018), Real People: Real Change: Strategies for Just Energy Transitions, 2..
1
The President also highlighted the importance of
4 528th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
The concept of a just transition is rooted in the response of the This was followed in 2016 by the UNFCCC Technical Paper The conference revealed a number of insights into what a just There was a collective sense, expressed in part by Sandrine
union movement and frontline communities in the 1980s and Just Transition of the Workforce, and the Creation of Decent transition approach might look like, and how it might be put Dixson-Declѐve (The Club of Rome) in the same session, that
1990s to the closure of polluting industries due to globalisation, Work and Quality Jobs and the 2018 Silesia Declaration, into action. This report is structured around these insights: a transformational moment had arrived due to a convergence
and environmental regulations. Their aim was to build a bridge signed by Ireland and the European Union at COP24 in of tipping points: Covid-19, inequality, climate and biodiversity
between environmentalism, occupational health and safety, Katowice. The Silesia Declaration further commits parties to • Insight 1: Vision and Definitions of Justice; – with the first caused by the last two.
and labour rights. integrate the social and climate justice aspects of the Paris
• Insight 2: Shared Resources and Systems-thinking;
Agreement, as it reaffirms: There was a sense that lessons could be learned from
In 2015, the International Labour Organization (ILO) translated • Insight 3: Social Dialogue and Participatory Processes; past transitions and that major change presented an
this approach into the following key principles for a ‘just …that the Paris Agreement emphasizes the intrinsic opportunity. It was argued that if the Covid-19 pandemic
• Insight 4: Change and Resilience; and
transition’ in the paper Guidelines for a just transition towards relationship that climate change actions, responses was a test run for the major changes required, it also
environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, and impacts have with equitable access to sustainable • Insight 5: Towards the Elements of a Blueprint showed that there were serious inequalities and fault-lines
which were negotiated by over 160 governments, employer development and eradication of poverty. in our societies and economies that would shape, and be
organisations and unions: A copy of the programme can be seen here. Information on shaped by, any response. Many speakers, from Dr Patrick
and highlights: the Spotlight Sessions can be seen here. Appendix 1 provides Bresnihan (Maynooth University) to Stefano Grassi (European
• s
trong social consensus on the goal and pathways to a summary of each of the sessions. Commission) and Sharan Burrow (ITUC) highlighted how the
sustainability; …that the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable pandemic had exposed deep veins of sectoral and planetary
Development, as well as its Sustainable Development interconnectedness, as well as severe structural faults.
• policies that respect rights at work;
Goals, confirm the need to tackle environmental, social and
• r ecognition of the strong gender dimension of economic problems in a coherent and integrated manner. In Session F, Dr Edouard Morena (University of London)
environmental challenges and opportunities, and Insight 1: described Covid-19 as leading to ‘an acceleration of history’
consideration of policies to promote equitable outcomes; This report of the 28th EEAC Conference outlines discussions
on approaches to just transition, and the wider implications of
Vision & Definitions of Justice that both highlighted and continued to exacerbate pre-existing
inequalities that would also influence the impact of climate
• p
olicy coherence across economic, environmental, social,
better integrating climate and social justice goals, ensuring no- A key insight from the conference was that vision builds up change. In his keynote address, President of Ireland Michael D.
education, training and labour portfolios to generate an
one is left behind, and reaching the most vulnerable first. from co-created concepts of justice, while also protecting Higgins reiterated a point made Dr Larry O’Connell (NESC) that
enabling environment for the transition;
worst-affected regions. a just transition approach could be used to ‘build back better’
• a
nticipation of impacts on employment social protection NESC’s most recent Council report, Addressing Employment from the Covid-19 crisis:
for job losses and displacement, skills development Vulnerability as Part of a Just Transition in Ireland (March If the just transition approach, including the Agenda 2030,
and social dialogue, including the right to organise and 2020), is the foundational research basis for the EEAC 28th was to achieve its aim of ‘leave no one behind’ and ‘reach the We have seen, it has been empirically demonstrated,
bargain collectively; Annual Conference ‘Delivering a Just Transition for All’. This most vulnerable first’, then participants noted that we must how the poor have suffered, and continue to suffer,
NESC report sets out the following vision for Ireland in 2050: expand our whole approach to achieving a just and low-carbon disproportionately during the Covid-19 crisis, with the
• t he need to take into account the specific conditions of
economy. In part, this was because it has become clear that distributive effects more favourable to the already privileged
countries, including their level of development, economic
Our vision for Ireland is to become a resilient, sustainable, visionary ambition was required to deliver the transformative and well-off. We now need a just recovery. We must not
sectors and sizes of enterprises—no ‘one size fits all’
thriving net zero economy, environment and society, using economic and social changes required by facing climate allow this regressive trend, which has manifested in such
solutions; and
innovation and collective preparedness to shape the future change, the biodiversity crisis and now the Covid-19 pandemic. tragic personal and social consequences, to continue
• t he importance of fostering international co-operation we want to achieve. It is a vision for an Ireland where the As Dr Larry O’Connell said in Session A: Just Transition— as we embark on the difficult journey to transform our
among countries (ILO, 2015). State plays its part in ensuring mission-oriented actions Principles and Mission, ‘we are giving to ourselves a very societies and economies towards ecological sustainability.
to achieve a high-quality jobs economy, and productively daunting task: the transition means a deep radical change in ‘Just transition’ allows us the opportunity to break the
These principles formed the basis of the reference to just addresses employment vulnerability as part of a just the way we live, consume, produce and transport energy in our cycle of disadvantage by ensuring that those most
transition within the preamble of the December 2015 United transition. buildings and transport patterns in every walk of life’. vulnerable to economic turbulence are protected.
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Paris Agreement, which requires parties when implementing In Session F: ‘What Next for Just Transition Mission, Process Though marked by great loss and suffering, the pandemic
the agreement to take ‘into account the imperatives of a & Practice in the context of Covid-19, Dr Edouard Morena and climate change had given us an opportunity to make a
just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent (University of London) argued that Just Transition must be fundamental shift in how we order our economies, societies
work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined built from the grassroots up. and cities. Visionary ambition was required, guided by a
development priorities.’ utopian process that foregrounds justice, co-creation, dialogue,
protection and inclusion of the most vulnerable, with an
overarching aim of ‘leave no one behind’. Differing visions
6 728th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
of the economy and society that we were working towards Tamara Metze argued that energy conflicts, such as debates Finally, the need for discussions of ‘justice’ to be underpinned Session B: Learning from Just Transition Practices and
were offered, such as the vision, outlined in Session A: Just over renewable energy, should not be dismissed as ‘annoying’, by rigorous data collection was reiterated in Session C.3: A Institutions revealed that the Scottish Just Transition
Transition—Principles and Mission by Sharon Burrow, of using but examined in a justice framework. This would allow local Just Water Transition. Various conceptions of ‘justice’ in the Commission was already putting into practice an intertwined,
a just transition to build ‘a new social contract’ that was conceptions of what constitutes ‘justice’ to be integrated context of water were discussed in this session. However, holistic conception of social, economic and climate justice.
‘uncompromising on net zero’ and on jobs and social justice. into public energy policy. This need for a justice framework there was a lack of data on who was most vulnerable in The commission’s representative, Charlotte Hartley, said it
Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate Action was reiterated in Session C.2: Advising on a Just Transition, Europe to climate change and water stress, and how those took as its basis that the just transition must tackle existing
and Communication and Minister for Transport, outlined a in which Mike Hemsley (UK Committee on Climate Change) vulnerabilities interact with water infrastructure investment injustices such as housing, energy poverty and welfare. A
vision of an Ireland where every person had a warm home, referred to the findings of the UK Citizen’s Climate Assembly and policy choices in other areas such as agriculture. The systems and equity-based approach was an important
with access to green public space, and where young rural in 2019 that ‘the transition, including for workers and energy need for access to essential basic services such as water and baseline for such engagement as sometimes, ‘because of the
workers were paid well for high-nature-value farming and high- bill payers, must be fair, and perceived to be fair.’ This sanitation had been highlighted by the pandemic. However, it existing levels of injustice, just transition isn’t on the agenda’
quality retrofitting. need for fairness in the transition reflects citizen concerns was unclear who exactly was suffering from water shortages, for the lives of workers and their communities. The need
about the handling of two previous transitions in the UK and why. These vulnerabilities needed to be explored in order for climate and transition policy to integrate climate, social
Definitions of Justice that, while beneficial for the climate, were not perceived as to inform policy on water infrastructure, procedural justice and economic justice was also clearly expressed by youth
just or fair: first, the closure of the coal mining industry and, and diplomacy in sharing water resources. participants David Poland (NYCI), Youth 2030, writers Tegan
To facilitate this visionary ambition, however, there was a need secondly, the major increase in renewable energy achieved Forde and Laura Woulfe and, to a lesser extent, by Evan van
for clear definitions and indicators of what constitutes justice, through subsidies paid through a levy on energy bills which Failing to take the time to align social and green objectives Genuchten of the Dutch Youth Climate Movement. As Laura
justice for whom, and according to whom? The general view disproportionately affected low-income households who could lead to climate policies with unintended unjust Woulfe says in her flash fiction piece ‘Tended’:
from the sessions was that ‘justice’ in vision and process could not afford their own solar panels, etc. consequences. In Session D.2, Tamara Metze (Wageningen
must be co-created with vulnerable groups, rather than University and Research) stated that the vulnerabilities of In this new strange world, we’re expected to last longer. I
imposed from the top down. In Session F, Dr Raphael Heffron Sharan Burrow’s call in Session A: Just Transition—Principles citizens from lower socio-economic backgrounds were know you feel the pressure to bloom earlier because it’s
(University of Dundee) offered key principles of distributional, and Mission for a strong definition of ‘just transition’ and not acknowledged in decision-making or campaigns on warmer, and you’re expected to hang on to your leaves
procedural and cosmopolitan justice as a framework to guide ‘climate justice’ in the Irish Climate Change and Low Carbon Dutch energy policy, and there were no procedures for their longer because it’s warmer. It sometimes feels like it’s
the transition to a low-carbon economy. Development (Amendment) Bill 2020 was echoed in Session meaningful participation. As these vulnerable groups could hotting up for me too; expected to do it all, have a great job
C.2: Advising on a Just Transition by Dr Anna Davies and co-design the definition of ‘energy justice’, Dutch energy policy and a family. Keep going, longer and longer, until I’m 66
A justice framework could also assist in legitimising concerns Mike Hemsley, from the respective Irish and UK Climate was leading to distributional and procedural injustices such as because I can’t afford a pension, there’s pressure on me too.
and providing a platform to debate questions of power, Change Advisory Councils. Fears were raised that there these groups being unable to ‘financially participate in energy
democracy in society and inclusion that fundamentally shape was a danger of being well-meaning in seeking ‘justice’ and co-operatives/own solar’ and ‘they suffer most from raising
climate policy choices. Tamara Metze (Wageningen University ‘fairness’, but this could become a form of a ‘whatever you energy prices’. Annemieke Nijhof (Dutch Council for the
and Research) in particular outlined the clash of different like’ approach to just transition and public participation that Environment and Infrastructure) reiterated in this session the
perspectives on justice in Session D.2: State-citizen Interplay undermines trust and legitimacy in the process. To avoid need to examine power dynamics, to listen, and to resist the
for Achieving a Just Transition: Lessons from the Netherlands. such pitfalls, it was recommended that governments and urge to stigmatise those who disagree, even if the exchanges
It was recommended in this session to foreground those most actors foreground inclusivity and meaningful participation become emotional.
affected by an environmental policy choice, in order to bring to of those worst affected, as well as the principles outlined in
light concerns which could not previously be expressed due to signed agreements, such as the Paris Agreement and the
a lack of integration between social and climate policies in the Silesia Declaration. Placing such work on a statutory footing
Netherlands. was also recommended. In Session D.3: Finance for a Just
Transition, the discussion highlighted the ability of law and
human rights to provide sound frameworks and parameters
for justice, as well as accountability. Underpinning these
definitions was a need for rigorous data collection that could
tell decision-makers who exactly was vulnerable to climate
change and how.
8 928th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Insight 2: Shared Resources & Insight 3: Social Dialogue &
Systems Thinking Participatory Processes
By focusing concerns on the most vulnerable, and prioritising However, this new integrated perspective, and the The conference noted that transition needed to be done in Such bottom-up involvement was a difficult task due
dialogue with the worst affected, it was noted that a just entrepreneurial approach required to build on it, was being the spirit of partnership rather than top down. It should be to the many intersecting layers of the transition. As Elif
transition approach both enabled and required systems- confined by overly stringent restrictions and a lack of state guided by the principles of Agenda 2030 which prioritised Gunduzyeli (CAN Europe) set out, an energy transition alone
thinking. support. In Session D.1: Sustainable and Resilient Regions, engagement with the most vulnerable in decision-making could have layers of injustice: first, those affected by rapid
speakers concurred that providing a just transition in the processes. This involved valuing heritage, current local decarbonisation; secondly, those whose livelihoods are
There was concurrence among those at the conference Midlands required the development of what the Irish Just community development structures, and current skillsets affected by climate change (such as farmers or beekeepers);
that, as societies, we needed to find new, integrated ways Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, called ‘a new rulebook’ and traditions. Could we uncover existing skillsets in workers and third, communities affected by high-carbon industrial
of thinking about environmental and social challenges. in Europe and Ireland. There was enormous potential inherent and their communities and local region through skills audits? activities and past injustices such as the loss of lands and
Governments, investors and civil society were beginning to in affected regions like the Midlands, where communities were How could we recognise that a cultural loss had occurred and homes due to open-cast mining. Mike Hemsley, Luke Murphy
understand that there were social dimensions to actions taken essential ‘agents of change, not victims of change’, whose skills build a response that would resonate with local, regional and and Tamara Metze all added in the concerns of those being
to protect the climate or environmental activities. and knowledge can be repurposed for better opportunities, national institutional contexts? affected by renewable energy policies—such as high energy
according to Dr Robert Pollock (Platform for Coal [and Carbon costs on the vulnerable, and the imposition of renewable
A climate policy must be acted upon in a holistic manner, Intensive] Regions in Transition) in Session B: Learning from The need to rebuild trust in government and democracy after energy infrastructure on rural regions to service urban
rather than bereft of its social and cultural context and Just Transition Practices and Institutions. previous failed transition management was raised often during areas. In this manner, a just transition could require humility,
implications. A just transition approach, accompanied by the conference as a fundamental reason for the emergence recognising that past mistakes had been made but that there
Agenda 2030, could help bring into light these previously To harness this, the ground must be prepared for and popularity of the just transition principle. It was stated would be lessons learnt in moving forward.
unaddressed, intersecting concerns—making for better policy. experimentation. The Covid-19 pandemic and climate change a number of times that, if governments did not involve
had dramatically upended many old economic metrics and communities, councils and workers at the base of their work, In managing and understanding these cross-cutting concerns,
This misalignment between social and green objectives was traditional restrictions on support mechanisms such as state the transition would not work. As stated by the President of there was a need for transition management approaches to
most evident in the sessions on Session D.3: Finance for a aid, and, according to Kieran Mulvey, the ‘just transition in Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, in his keynote speech: be steeped in institutional and cultural context. In including
Just Transition and Session D.2: State-citizen Interplay for its broadest sense should be facilitated not restrained by affected communities, Dr Fergus Green in Session B: Learning
Achieving a Just Transition: Lessons from the Netherlands. In outdated rules that applied to another economic era’. For I strongly support the Council’s call for the establishment from Just Transition Practices and Institutions indicated that
the former, Myriam Vander Stichele noted that there was a this new rulebook, a number of recommendations were of a meaningful social dialogue and deliberative process, the institutional politics and cultural and social histories of a
need to develop integrated green and social ‘do no significant offered throughout the conference, such as developing broad which should be framed in the wider context of discussions region could be more important than economic factors such
harm’ objectives to guide institutional and private investment economic strategies that integrate local work into a national with regard to how we embed the just economy and as jobs or funding: ‘We are often dealing with regions with a
to ensure it was consistent with the objectives of the European ‘structural reorientation’ response, as recommended by Rudiger society, now so urgently needed, and indeed desired particular identity tied to a legacy industry or economic culture.
Green Deal, and not made at the expense of social and Ahrend of the OECD. by the citizenry. Social dialogue and real, inclusive There are social relations bound up with particular ways of
workers’ rights. The EU had not developed a social taxonomy democratic consultation with all social partners should be working in that relationship, routines and traditions.’
alongside the green taxonomy, and it had not required that Many speakers took the European Green Deal as a framework a fundamental principle of any just-transition approach.
green investments avoid undermining social rights. To avoid for this ‘new rulebook’ approach to the transition, particularly To direct these assets towards new transitions, government
unintended consequences, Myriam Vander Stichele advised its mention of new wellbeing indicators and ‘doughnut’ Co-designing the transition was discussed as being important, agencies and teams working on just transition could
that definitions of investment activity should be underpinned economics. In Session A, Stefano Grassi and Sharan Burrow particularly in Session E: Participatory Processes for a Fair and include staff skilled in the social aspects of change, such
by strong foundational documentation such as the OECD’s remarked that the European Union had played its own role in Inclusive Transition. As not everyone would benefit from the as anthropology and social psychology. In Session C.1: Just
Due Diligence Guidance and Guidelines for Multinational unjust transitions such as the Eurozone crisis, austerity and low-carbon transition, we would need to ensure that those Transition, Vulnerability, and Policy Responses, Professor John
Enterprises, the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and the decline of industrial regions. The European Green Deal, and affected by this vision of a low-carbon future were truly heard. Tomaney (University College London) also highlighted the
Human Rights, the ILO Labour Conventions, and the Universal its prominence in the EU’s Covid-19 recovery package, was As Arnau Queralt-Bassa (Chairman, EEAC Network) said, importance of cultural and institutional context in shaping
Declaration of Human Rights. seen by both speakers as a positive development that could ‘We must ensure that we are talking with people, not above community engagement, resilience and new opportunities
help refocus the agenda towards social and environmental or about them’. Dialogue and co-design, according to Luke for a region. Even if past transitions had gone badly, creating
progress as well as growth. Systems-thinking in the European Murphy (IPPR), could bring about a better-designed transition distrust in ‘left-behind places’, such as the North of England
Green Deal was also highlighted in Session C.3: A Just Water that did not lead to delays and public blocking of proposals. and Wales, long-standing community forums could be
Transition as being key to fitting together and developing an Greater social involvement and dialogue was ‘not a barrier redirected into building regional solutions to current injustices,
approach that addresses the complex range of issues that but a pre-requisite’ to a faster transition and to avoid greater and future changes.
cause and shape water stress and accompanying injustices. injustices.
10 1128th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Insight 4:
Change and Resilience
In Session D.1: Sustainable and Resilient Regions, heritage While there was no blueprint in delivering a just transition, In Session C.1, Dr Cathal FitzGerald (NESC) outlined learnings While economic transitions – including the low-carbon
and culture was discussed as a ‘’well of strength’’ from which different practical ways to build resilience to transitions from NESC’s Council Report No: 149 Addressing Employment transition – had wider implications for society, it was
to draw, leading to resilience and the ability to build new emerged from the discussion. The transition would be Vulnerability as Part of a Just Transition in Ireland (March proposed that this should not forestall social dialogue and
opportunities in cultural identity, tourism, cultural significance, profoundly disruptive for some specific regional communities 2020), which proposed ‘continuous pre-emptive workforce targeted supports to prevent or mitigate immediate negative
local and regional self-confidence and respect. Irish Rural that were uniquely reliant on certain industries, such as peat development’ as a means of building resilience. For individuals, impacts on affected regions, businesses and workers.
Link, Kieran Mulvey (Just Transition Commissioner) and Offaly extraction in the Midlands. However, as outlined in Session this would mean reskilling and continuous pre-emptive This was due in part to its origins. Dr Edouard Morena
Local Development Council noted the rich local history of C.1: Just Transition, Vulnerability, and Policy Responses, education; for states, delivering high-impact, targeted funding highlighted in Session F that, unlike many other concepts
the Midlands, built around the Bord na Móna communities, creating the overall conditions for a ‘good and green jobs’ to affected regions, and, for businesses, building and fostering in climate discourse, such as green economy, green growth
ESB houses, good jobs and community cohesion. Brendan economy could protect these communities and provide the resilient enterprises, with state support. Other forms of and sustainable development, just transition was uniquely
O’Loughlin (Offaly Local Development Council) stated that a means of achieving the aims of a just transition. Overall, resilience proposed at the conference were: a universal social bottom-up. It was a concept rooted in the lived experience of
coherent collective identity must come from the bottom up, strong underpinnings in social welfare, education, supports floor such as a global minimum living wage; universal basic workers and their communities in regions that suffered from
building on living, proud cultural identities that said ‘we are for enterprise, strong mechanisms for institutional community services; and income and participatory processes founded past unjust transitions, entering into international climate
people of the bog—bog men’, emulating the title of the famous and worker dialogue provided solid, resilient foundations on equality, in terms of gender; workforce and community negotiations through trade union efforts. For example, two-
book Bog Men Be Proud. This past heritage and regional from which individuals, communities, regions, states and inclusion. Creating these overall conditions was important thirds of Enterprise Ireland’s enterprises are based outside
expertise enabled the building of new ideas that were solid and global economies could develop a flexible, sound response for in Ireland, as companies are facing an increasingly dynamic Dublin, and all of them recorded net growth in 2019, with
rooted in old foundations, ensuring that new companies were whenever the wave breaks upon them. and unpredictable environment, according to Rowena Dwyer the exception of the Midlands region. In Session C.1: Just
not simply thrown into the region without local resonance or (Enterprise Ireland) including Brexit, digitalisation, climate Transition, Vulnerability, and Policy Responses, Rowena Dwyer
connection—something that Kieran Mulvey warned against. There was a need to embrace the inevitability of change change and now Covid-19. Long-term planning for economic (Enterprise Ireland) attributed this lack of growth to the phase-
and develop strong regional and national mechanisms that change by states, and long-term research and development out of peat-harvesting and power production in the Midlands.
could harness it for opportunity. There was a need to learn to predict change and harness opportunity were highly The closures were having a wider knock-on impact on supply
that past transition management approaches had resulted in recommended in this session. chains and regional businesses.
communities feeling abandoned. The need to develop better
transition management approaches was not only underpinned In Session D.1: Sustainable and Resilient Regions, it was In Session A, Youth 2030 called on NESC and EEAC policy-
by moral arguments, but also because we had learnt that such remarked that accepting opportunity and loss in Ireland’s makers to ‘help save’ communities, such as the Midlands,
treatment of specific social groups had wider societal impacts. transition meant continuing to develop new ways of seeing that are worst affected by the phase-out of carbon-intensive
Examples were given throughout the conference, whether peatland. Under Bord na Móna’s state-led direction in the activities. Representative David Poland (NYCI) stated: ‘[I],
an increase in hard-right votes in rust-belt areas such as 1930s, what was considered wasteland became a resource like many others, am finding it harder and harder to see a
Appalachia in the United States, or the Brexit vote in the North that underpinned the pride and entrepreneurialism of the new future for myself in my own homeplace’. These fears about
of England and Wales. Irish state. Another juncture was facing the State with the the present and future reflect the need for a targeted policy
need to halt peat harvesting and turn to peat rehabilitation and response in low-carbon transitions, where cessation of peat
carbon sequestration. These shifts highlighted the importance or other fossil fuels would have a severe employment impact
of anticipating change, systems thinking, systems design and on specific mono-industrial or resource-reliant regions. If a
institutional learning from past experience—key themes of the robust, place-based and targeted ‘just transition’ response was
conference raised by Dr Sinéad O’Flanagan of NESC, Dr Robert not developed for a disproportionately affected region, the
Pollock and Just Transition Commissioner Kieran Mulvey. results could be starkly unjust. This was shown by Professor
John Tomaney (University College London) in his description
of the UK’s shift away from industrial manufacturing and coal
production in the UK to a service and financial sector-based
economy.
12 1328th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Appendix: Overview of
Conference Sessions
This appendix provides an overview of the conference sessions:
Insight 5: Towards the Elements
of a Blueprint Day One
• Session A: Just Transition—Principles and Mission
The conference highlighted that just transition was a 6. Public-sector investment is a primary important driver of
• Session B: Learning from Just Transition Practices and Institutions
combination of very practical worker, firm and community- transition. . Private-sector investment is also important.
based supports—the ‘nuts and bolts’—as well as an All financial investment needs to be guided by clear
Day Two
overarching process of how to get to ‘the World We Want’ taxonomy, standards and strong legal definitions that
• Session C: Levers to Drive a Just Transition
required by the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development integrate social, climate and biodiversity objectives. Funding
Goals (SDG). Though there was no standardised template, must be dedicated, long-term and targeted at affected 1. Just Transition, Vulnerability, and Policy Responses
recommendations for a just transition approach from the regions. It must also be easy to access for different
2. Advising on a Just Transition
conference broadly include: actors, support skills and potential in the region, create
a comprehensive package that offers jobs to those who 3. A Just Water Transition
1. A clear, coherent vision and pathway forward. have upskilled and retrained, and it must be free from
• Session D: Levers to Drive a Just Transition
unnecessary constraints that hinder the entrepreneurialism
2. Guiding principles and processes based on clear
and dynamism of communities. 1. Sustainable and Resilient Regions
definitions of what constitutes justice, just transition
and the SDG principles of ‘leave no one behind’ and 7. Good personnel restructuring processes that are well 2. State-citizen Interplay for Achieving a Just Transition: Lessons from the Netherlands
‘reaching the most vulnerable first’. defined can lead to an orderly phase-out for workers.
3. Finance for a Just Transition
For example, options for workers to be redeployed and
3. An inclusive, deliberative and iterative process,
retrain on similar good pay and conditions; a bridge
and institutions to deliver that vision. Day Three
to a pension; income and skills support; redeployment
4. A targeted focus on workers and their wider support; reinvestment and renewal for surrounding • Session E: Participatory Processes for a Fair and Inclusive Transition
communities within an understanding of institutional communities; R&D support for businesses, and targeted • Session F: What Next for Just Transition Mission, Process & Practice in the context of Covid-19?
context and place. As warned by both Rudiger Ahrend funding to support employers.
(OECD) and Stefano Grassi (European Commission), Keynote Address by the President of Ireland, Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins
‘the worst you can do is face the transition unprepared
or unmanaged’. Every territory and region needs a clearly
designed strategy. It needs to look at possible options
and have a wide array of policies and instruments that
can be mobilised to help a territory find an alternative
pathway to growth away from reliance. This can involve
reskilling, support for SMEs, new sources of energy,
energy efficiency in buildings, and renovating schools.
5. Principles and processes must be e co-designed with
the most vulnerable affected workers and communities,
and be accompanied by rigorous data collection in order
to build indicators against which progress can be tracked.
14 1528th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Day 1 — Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Opening Session A
Just Transition—Principles and Mission: This session recognised above all that we were living in the Minister Eamon Ryan broadened out the concept of just The pandemic had also drawn just transition into the
What is a fair, inclusive and equitable green throes of significant existing transitions—a low-carbon, digital, transition to incorporate public and active travel, ending fuel mainstream of economic and social policy discourse, as noted
industrial transformation away from heavy industry and poverty, the public realm, the ‘double dividend’ of energy by Dr Larry O’Connell, and there was a need for ‘analytical
transition and why do we need it?
a global pandemic—but were more than ready to ‘bounce efficiency, which resulted in warm homes and the employment empathy’ with those affected by policy. There were also past
back better and build back better’. There was recognition benefits of a national retrofit scheme. Marginal West of Ireland and parallel transitions that we must learn from. Stefano
of the great challenge we faced in preparing for a major farming would have to pay better, and be used as a tool to Grassi gave the example of the Eurozone crisis and the EU
Welcome: transformation. Yet, the session was hopeful. As Stefano fundamentally reshape the country as we coped with climate single market precipitating closures of heavy industrial sectors
Dr Cara Augustenborg, Moderator Grassi (European Commission) pointed out, Ireland and change. As well as good jobs, there were opportunities for across the EU due to global competitiveness. Sharan Burrow
Europe had faced momentous challenges before and turned the management of flood risks and reducing nitrogen and noted that ‘just transition is a recognition of past harms, and
Speakers: them into opportunity. ammonia pollution. a way out of our corresponding crises’. These crises included
Dr Larry O’Connell, Director, NESC: NESC’s Just Transition Work; climate change, global inequality, biodiversity collapse, the
Mr Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister for Climate Action, Communication The session discussed: A just transition was one of the primary elements of the lack of a global wage or floor of social protections, and a loss
Networks and Transport; European Green Deal according to Stefano Grassi. From the of faith in democracy and traditional institutions due to past
Stefano Grassi, Head of Cabinet to the European Commissioner → How could we as a society—nationally, regionally and European Commission’s perspective, President Ursula von der mismanaged transitions. She also noted the intergenerational
responsible for Energy; European Green Deal—Green Transition; globally—engage in a significant transformation towards Leyen had made climate change a priority, setting an objective injustice in younger people inheriting this mess of institutional
Ms Sharan Burrow, ITUC: Just Transition not only a low-carbon society, but a just one? ? of a climate-neutral EU by 2050 as the only credible way to failure and climate breakdown: ‘This is a battle of the
achieve Paris. The transition to a low-carbon economy was not generations, so let’s make sure that this is a transition that
→ How could we learn from past transitions and find ways
just a policy or a moral imperative; it continued on a daily basis, indeed has people at the heart’. The role of just transition
to enact the principles of equality, equity and social
driven by market forces and the dynamics of price which are is in guiding a new social contract. If the social contract
inclusion that underlie a just transition?
bringing cheaper renewables. Stefano Grassi stated that we broke down in the 1980s, then it must be rebuilt using a just
→ Did Irish, European and international transition policies need to seize the opportunities provided by climate change, to transition that would include the following:
reflect justice? be prepared and aware, and to be able to run with and pilot it.
All speakers noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had provided • f ull employment that created a new job for every one lost
→ Last but not least, as Stefano Grassi highlighted, what
unprecedented opportunity, as well as exposing long-existing in the transition;
was justice and fairness in the transition?
fault-lines in the economy and how we value work. According
• a global floor of labour-market protections;
to Sharan Burrow (ITUC), ‘Covid now makes those fractures
These questions required translating the ‘highly admirable
look like craters. It has been blown open that business as • social dialogue in the design of the transition;
though challenging idea of leaving no-one behind’ into
usual has not been working for people’. In the Irish context,
concrete work and processes. On this, Dr Larry O’Connell • gender equality for women;
changes were recommended by Sharan Burrow to the Climate
(NESC) had six key reflections from NESC’s landmark research
Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020 to • investment rather than austerity;
into just transition: a vision for the low-carbon society was
incorporate a strong definition of just transition.
critical; there was no blueprint or all-seeing wisdom; we were • due diligence in supply chains;
entering uncharted waters and continuous rigorous review
• potentially breaking up the big tech companies;
was needed to keep the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ in sight;
context was critical; the importance of place in supporting • a new approach to state debt; and
viable but vulnerable enterprises with targeted high-impact
• c
reating liveable cities for a global population of
funding processes; and the need for participatory processes.
7–9 billion.
16 1728th EEAC Annual Conference October 2020 Delivering a Just Transition for All
Day 1 — Tuesday, 27th October 2020
Session B
Artistic Interlude: … Learning from Just Transition Practices Comprehending institutional context was a precondition
Contribution from Youth 2030 and Institutions of effective practice: Power and agency were dispersed in
different ways at different levels. The institutional context in
The fear that current and past injustices would not be which you were working and where you were working needed
resolved, or would be repeated, was also evident in the to be understood. This was reiterated by Dr Fergus Green who
Panel Discussion:
closing presentations given by Youth 2030, the Young stated that best ‘just transition’ practice recommendations
Dr Cara Augustenborg, Moderator
People’s Committee of the National Youth Council of Ireland could be given, but they were steeped in institutional context.
Dr Robert Pollock, Platform for Coal [and Carbon Intensive] Regions
(NYCI). Youth 2030 representative David Poland outlined For example, an interesting example of a just transition
in Transition Secretariat: Learning from Coal Intensive Regions to Date
their Youth Manifesto on Climate Justice, and stated that approach was found in Germany, but Dr Green attributed
Dr Fergus Green, Utrecht University: Just Transition Lessons
young people had been the leaders on climate action. For Germany’s successes to it being a negotiated democracy
from Australia
Youth 2030, just transition meant an intertwining of high- with proportional representation and a corporatist structure
Ms Charlotte Hartley, Scottish Just Transition Commission:
quality work, social justice, environmental protection, and Figure 1: The artistic contribution from Youth 2030 was poetry for organising interest groups. This institutional structure
Insights from the Role of a Just Transition Commission
fulfilment of the desire to see a future for oneself in one’s accompanied by a video of a young girl representing 'Just Transition', facilitated longer-term compromises over government
home place. The SDGs and the European Green Deal were walking through landscapes: rural, urban, exploited and wild. formations and policy. In contrast, Australia’s competitive
In this session, an expert panel shared their views and
presented as a framework to achieve these intertwined democracy incentivised competition and lacked co-operative
lessons from just transition practices and institutions across
goals of inclusive dialogue with those affected: ‘climate institutions to facilitate dialogue. This undermined the
the European Union, Scotland and Australia. Key learnings
action, decent work, reduced inequalities, economic growth procedural, co-operative nature required for a just transition.
included: there was no ‘silver bullet’ to the just transition,
and affordable, cleaner energy’. The key overarching Just Transition is her name,
and there was a need for a systems approach that saw the
message communicated from Youth 2030 was: follow her now and leave no one to blame. The need to plan ahead—develop a long-term phased pathway
issue from many angles. Though there was no standardised
plan to promote longitudinal comprehension and flexibility: Dr
Young people, old people, businesses and sectors, template, best ‘just transition’ practice broadly included
…one of unity in facing the challenge ahead, while keeping Pollock recommended a short, medium and long-term vision
a coherent vision, an inclusive deliberative process and a
our social justice focus on the climate crisis. This needs she talks to you to warn you before it festers. as the sequencing of actions, and flexibility was important
targeted focus on workers and their wider communities within
to be ingrained with a strong commitment of making a Urban and rural, everyone alike, due to the fluid and rapidly changing nature of transitioning
an understanding of institutional context and place.
just transition a reality as soon as possible. Young people environments. In Scotland, the Just Transition Commission
she’s calling you now, had highlighted the need to create clear short, medium and
are imagining the future they want, and yes, it is one of The contributors agreed that the just transition principle was
green jobs and low emissions, but dig deeper and we come and take your mic. long-term just transition plans for each sector. Charlotte
generally centred on skills and workers, but the focus on
envision a much fairer society with reduced inequalities. … Hartley recommended that work on pathways be jointly owned
communities broadened the conversation beyond the energy
An economy with low-carbon public transport, home by members and trade bodies in each sector, and jointly led by
Smiling she begins, noticing communities listen, sector. Just transition was one of the primary elements
heating, retrofitting and electric vehicles sounds appealing government.
of the European Green Deal. As part of the transition, the
but needs to be affordable for everybody. Policies must she calls on us to act now and end this division.
European Commission had established the EU START
not exacerbate regional inequalities that already exist, Learn from this we must and never ignore future signs, Affected localities needed to be the focus of support and
Programme to provide guidance to ‘mono-industrial’ regions
since most people in carbon-intensive industries can engagement as agents of change: Communities were essential
it will be because of her, in the EU worst affected by the phase-out of highly polluting
be found in regions that are already under-invested. ‘agents of change, not victims of change’, whose skills and
fossil fuels from the energy system. Regions visited by the
just transition, knowledge could be repurposed, according to Dr Pollock. In
EU START programme included Silesia in Poland and the
Youth 2030 called on delegates and policymakers to build an that extends this world’s deadlines. including affected communities, Dr Green noted that cultural
Midlands in Ireland, which was reliant on peat harvesting. In
effective response to the difficulties being faced by young and social aspects of a region could be more important than
Just Transition is her name, his presentation, Dr Robert Pollock (Platform for Coal [and
people in the transition, particularly those growing up in economic: ‘We are often dealing with regions with a particular
Carbon Intensive] Regions in Transition Secretariat) outlined
regions worst affected by the phase-out of carbon-intensive we must carry on forward with her, identity tied to a legacy industry or economic culture. There
the key learnings collected during the EU START programme,
activities. David Poland spoke of growing up with the view of with the clear absence of shame. are social relations bound up with particular ways of working
as follows:
the Bord na Móna power stations from his back garden, and in that relationship, routines and traditions.’ Government
Bord na Mona’s singular importance in providing local jobs, agencies and teams working on just transition needed to have
prospects and continuous apprenticeships. With the closure staff qualified in anthropology, social psychology—people
of the stations, David Poland said he, ‘like many others, am skilled in the social aspects of change. Legacy assets could be
finding it harder and harder to see a future for myself in my repurposed through new investment and technology. These
own home-place’. He asked for help from those in power to assets could be endogenous (in terms of local people’s skills
save their communities. The video contributions from both and heritage) and exogenous (physical infrastructure such as
David Poland and Youth 2030 can be viewed in full here. power plants).
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