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Just transition on the ground: Challenges and opportunities for social dialogue
Abstract
The process leading to a net zero carbon economy by mid-century will have massive effects on jobs, labour relations and income distribution. The idea of just transition – that achieving the ambitious objectives to bring climate change under control will only be possible if the transition to a net-zero carbon economy is balanced and just – has evolved in the last four decades from a union initiative to a complex policy framework adopted by international organizations, and also referred to in the COP21 Paris Agreement (UNFCCC, 2015). Building on literature analysis, this article deconstructs the concept of ‘just transition’ by discussing its various interpretations and dimensions and highlighting the role of trade unions in applying it. Based on sectoral case studies, concrete examples from two key sectors of the European economy – energy and automobile – are given, where massive employment transitions are under way and social dialogue plays a key role. Conclusions about the changing role of trade unions and the importance of co-operative industrial relations are drawn.
... While the need to decarbonise our economies finds wide societal consensus (Andre et al. 2023;Schulz and Trappmann 2023), how to do so is hotly debated. With each political actor taking on a distinct role in decarbonisation, trade unions will play a crucial part (Galgóczi 2020;Clarke and Lipsig-Mummé 2020), but the future they envision is unclearwill societal and economic structures look similar to those of today, only based on renewable energy, or are deeper, more systemic changes going beyond such substitution necessary? ...
... Kalt (2022), drawing on the power resource approach (Schmalz et al. 2018), argues that unions are neither "natural opponents" nor a priori supporters of green transitions, but choose to develop different strategic orientations toward them depending on the power resources available to them, the strategic interest in protecting existing or developing new such resources, and a range of contextual conditions, both internal and external. Many studies on German unions' green transition strategies stress how these have been shaped by the high degree of institutionalised power through social partnership (Galgóczi 2020) and the corporatist tradition of political decision-making (Herberg et al. 2020). However, these forms of cooperation are "rooted in a carbonbased economy, and therefore hinder the radical transformations necessary for a post-carbon economy" (Herberg et al. 2020, 2). ...
... Within the union movement, different unions have more or less transformative agendas (Prinz and Pegels 2018;Galgóczi 2020;Clarke and Sahin-Dikmen 2020;Trappmann et al. 2025). Cremer (2024) sorts German societal organisations into four clusters based on their demands in press releases, categorising IG BCE and IG Metall as "status quo supporters", ver.di as part of an "eco-social alliance" with most environmental NGOs, and other unions and the DGB located in between these two and a "pragmatic" cluster that holds most social welfare organisations. ...
While the need for a transformation to tackle climate change is no longercontested, competing visions about the future have taken the front seatin political debates. Previous research on stakeholders in the EuropeanParliament and the German Bundestag identified opposing views relatingto green growth, degrowth and post‐growth. In relation to trade unions, these have recently been discussed conceptually to some extent, butempirical work on the topic has hitherto been absent. Drawing on 25 semi‐structured interviews with representatives of Germany's DGB tradeunions, we find that, despite their strong support for a green growthnarrative and official opposition to post‐growth thought, the majority ofinterviewees sketched out concrete visions for a just future that in somerespects aligns with post‐ or a‐growth positions. In line with post‐growthdiscourses, trade union officials described an economy that allows for ‘agood life’ and ‘good work’, based on principles of co‐determination, secure and well‐paid jobs ensured by collective bargaining, income, wealth and inheritance tax reform and a stronger, more active role of thestate. Findings suggest that despite German labour unions’ sharedopposition to the term post‐growth or degrowth, there is significantoverlap in terms of concrete goals and policy proposals.
... Therefore, these transformations do not always represent a 'fair' transition, i.e. one that mitigates the effects on the most vulnerable workers (Thomas, 2021). Meanwhile, the state plays multiple roles in this context, acting as a prescriber (Galgóczi, 2020), a regulator (Snell, 2018) and a funder (see below). ...
... Although increasingly rare, this 'brown corporatism' has been observed in the fossil fuel sectors of Poland (Galgóczi, 2020), Australia (Wright et al., 2022), Argentina (Trenta, 2023) and North America (Clarke and Lipsig-Mummé, 2020), where employers, trade unions and (often conservative) governments coalise to defend a lucrative industry that provides many 'good jobs' and substantial tax revenues for the state. ...
... The most successful instances of ecological negotiation often involve the state playing a pivotal role, either as a financier of the greening of production facilities or as a provider of a social safety net for workers whose jobs are at risk. Additionally, though less common, civil society entities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) may also participate in multi-stakeholder social dialogue to govern 'just' transitions in order to minimise the social impacts of the ecological transition (Galgóczi, 2020). ...
L’article propose une typologie des négociations collectives de la transition écologique en entreprise. À partir d’une revue, de la littérature et des articles du numéro spécial, il identifie cinq types nommés « corporatisme brun », « corporatisme vert », « marginaliste », « conservatisme social », « lutte des éco-classes », qui sont décrits en fonction des stratégies des acteurs, des modes de négociation (comment on négocie), de ses fonctions (pourquoi on négocie), de ses objets (qu’est-ce qui est négocié), de ses arènes (où est-ce négocié) et de ses acteurs (qui négocie). Il s’attache ensuite à mettre au jour quatre ensembles de facteurs contextuels transversaux qui jouent sur la position de la négociation collective : l’action publique environnementale, les rapports de forces entre syndicats et employeurs, les représentations que les acteurs se font de leur rôle face aux enjeux environnementaux et les niveaux de la négociation.
... Therefore, these transformations do not always represent a 'fair' transition, i.e. one that mitigates the effects on the most vulnerable workers (Thomas, 2021). Meanwhile, the state plays multiple roles in this context, acting as a prescriber (Galgóczi, 2020), a regulator (Snell, 2018) and a funder (see below). ...
... Although increasingly rare, this 'brown corporatism' has been observed in the fossil fuel sectors of Poland (Galgóczi, 2020), Australia (Wright et al., 2022), Argentina (Trenta, 2023) and North America (Clarke and Lipsig-Mummé, 2020), where employers, trade unions and (often conservative) governments coalise to defend a lucrative industry that provides many 'good jobs' and substantial tax revenues for the state. ...
... The most successful instances of ecological negotiation often involve the state playing a pivotal role, either as a financier of the greening of production facilities or as a provider of a social safety net for workers whose jobs are at risk. Additionally, though less common, civil society entities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) may also participate in multi-stakeholder social dialogue to govern 'just' transitions in order to minimise the social impacts of the ecological transition (Galgóczi, 2020). ...
... An impression one is left with after reading much of this work, is that trade unions are treated as more or less coherent actors choosing between more or less clearly demarcated just transition agendas (e.g. [8][9][10]). While not disputing the value of such typologieswe will in fact draw on some of them in our subsequent analysisour focus is not on describing the diversity of possible iterations of the just transition agenda, but rather to explore its application in the ground. ...
... The importance of the strategic work of trade unions is highlighted by the social movement tradition within labour studies, where authors such as Hampton [38], Räthzel and Uzzell [39] and Stevis and Felli [40] have contrasted unions with transformative strategies to those backing incremental reforms. This work has led to several interesting typologies, contrasting how trade union envision a just transition: narrow or broad [9], transformative or affirmative [10], from within or away from fossil fuels [13], managing change or pushing for change [8], to name a few. But as Kalt [14] have pointed out, such analyses lack precision if they fail to consider the institutional context in which they are conceived. ...
... Social dialogue as an institutionalised feature of the Norwegian system of labour relations from the local to the central level, makes the case of Norway interesting in a just transitions perspective. Many just transition advocates in other countries have emphasised the importance of a democratically based framework of social dialogue as a prerequisite for a meaningful just transition [8,26]. In other words, establishing social dialogue has been proposed as a step towards a just transition, in considering workers in industries that is to phase out (e.g. ...
We examine how trade union actors at various scales of organisation and influence have engaged in the just transition agenda in Norway. The Norwegian model of industrial relations represents a democratic and highly institutionalised system of social dialogue, and allows us to assess the extent to which a just transition agenda is anchored at different levels, from tripartite decision-making to representation in the workplace. By introducing two analytical devices, anchorage and climate target compliance, we encourage just transition scholars to critically examine how trade union strategies, institutional contexts and normative outcomes are related in complex and non-linear ways. As a petroleum-dependent economy with ambitious political targets to reduce greenhouse gas emission, the Norwegian case is illustrative of the potential for trade union actors to proactively engage in climate target compliance through its role in just transition initiatives. Based on qualitative data from complementary research projects, our analysis suggests that the ambitions of key actors remain disconnected from the experienced reality of those who represent unions in bargaining or at a local level. The concept of a just transition still lacks internal anchorage between and across levels and segments of these organisations, as members and their elected representatives generally struggle to detect a clear mandate related to environmental concerns or emission reductions. Despite promising reformulations of policies and agreements at a central level, there is still little indication that Norwegian trade unions play a decisive role in making Norway meet their climate targets.
... [ Table 1 about here] Much research examines union approaches to decarbonization: whether they accept the jobs-versus-the-environment narrative and how they involve themselves in the transition (Stevis & Felli, 2015;Galgóczi, 2020;Kalt, 2022;Lefeuvre & Guga, 2019). Researchers have found that manufacturing unions, facing the prospects of significant job loss at the sectoral or company level, tend to emphasize the downsides of ambitious climate policies (Thomas & Pulignano, 2021), and polluting industries receive "double representation" in the policymaking process from both labor and management (Mildenberger, 2020). ...
... Thomas and Doerflinger (2020) categorize union statements about decarbonization in terms of opposition, support, and "hedging", and find that manufacturing unions often opt for the latter -accepting the need to change but favoring a slow and incremental approach to protect workers. Others argue that social dialogue and strong partnership between the union, employers, and government has slowed the expansion of BEV production in Germany (Galgóczi, 2020). Union priorities include making sure the jobs created are high-quality (Vachon, 2021), supporting workers displaced by the phasing out of jobs that depend on fossil fuels (Snell, 2018), and connecting this to broader struggles such as that for racial justice in "front-line communities" (Cha et al., 2022). ...
... Behind the question of job quality is the problem of union power (Doellgast, 2022). For many scholars, the involvement of unions is both part of the definition of a just transition and precondition of its realization (Galgóczi, 2020;Snell, 2018). In North America's Wagner model of labor law, employers normally oppose union recognition and collective bargaining (Silvia, 2023;Kallas et al., 2023), and much of the new work making BEVs and components will likely be non-union (Lafer, 2019;Leroy et al., 2022). ...
Reducing human-made greenhouse gas emissions is crucially important for life on earth, but it requires restructuring industries in ways that could disrupt millions of workers' lives globally. Whether this transition is "just" from the perspective of workers depends on the magnitude of job losses, the quality of new jobs, and the transitions workers experience from their current jobs to new ones. Using the example of the German auto industry, where the shift to Electric Vehicle production has recently accelerated, we identify recommendations for unions and policymakers in North America and beyond. This paper provides an overview of the tools for workers and trade unions in Germany to steer the transition and shows how analogous tools could be strengthened or created elsewhere.
... The "just energy transition" concept prioritizes worker livelihoods, community futures, and a low-carbon economy. Social discourse and consultation among employees, unions, government, employers, civil society, and communities are involved (Evans & Phelan, 2016;Galgóczi, 2020). Decentralization, place relevance, and prioritizing marginalized groups are vital aspects of energy transition (Heffron et al., 2021;Neill et al., 2018). ...
... The "just energy transition" concept emphasizes workers' livelihoods, the futures of communities, and an economy that produces less carbon. Those participating in social discourse and consultation include employees, unions, the government, employers, civic society, and communities (Evans & Phelan, 2016;Galgóczi, 2020). According to Neill et al. (2018) and Heffron et al. (2021), the transformation of the energy process may be broken down into several critical components, including decentralization, place relevance, and prioritizing marginalized populations. ...
South Asia faces a tremendous challenge in ensuring food security for its growing population. Poverty, climate change, and resource limitations threaten food production and access. Information and communication technology (ICT) provides a variety of techniques to increase food security. This research examines ICT’s effect on food security by regulating CO2 emissions, energy use, and economic growth in South Asian (SA) nations. It takes panel data from 1997 to 2021 and applies the 2nd generation unit root and Westerlund cointegration tests. For this reason, it is necessary to use 2nd generation Westerlund cointegration tests and the “Dumitrescu-Hurlin (D-H) causality test” to ensure the validity of the “Second-generation estimation technique(s) the Driscoll and Kraay method.” The outcomes of the bootstrap cointegration test support the existence of long-run cointegration. The Driscoll and Kraay results show a symmetric relationship between ICT and food security, linked to higher CO2 emissions, whereas economic growth and renewable energy consumption increase the latter. As a result of the significant positive stimulus it has on food security, developing ICT is vital to raising food security in South Asian countries. The results from the Driscoll and Kraay estimates are consistent with those from the GLS, proving the Driscoll and Kraay results are reliable. The D-H causality also confirms the GLS and Driscoll and Kraay results. To enhance environmental quality and food security, governments can fund green ICT R&D. Policymakers consider financial incentives such as tax breaks, grants, and subsidies to incentivize ICT companies to adopt sustainable practices and technology.
... Trans-European energy networks must meet the energy challenges arising from Art. 194 of the Treaty of Lisbon, as well as new obligations of the EU, which lists among the strategic goals of energy policy [33,[36][37][38]: ...
... For Poland, there are more young respondents aged 18-24 (18% compared to 15% in Germany) and aged 25-34 (30% compared to 25% in Germany). For Germany, there are more middle-aged people, [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] (30% compared to 25% in Poland). For both countries, there is a similar percentage of people aged 55+ (12% in Poland and 10% in Germany). ...
The article presents a comprehensive study of the energy strategies of both countries, aimed at achieving their goals by 2050. A literature review presents global trends in energy policy, the current situation in Poland and Germany, and the importance of sustainable energy. For Poland and Germany, the current situation, goals, and strategies for 2050 are described, and the results of surveys carried out using a survey questionnaire are presented. A comparative analysis included a comparison of the goals and strategies of both countries and the results of surveys, presented in tabular form. This analysis drew conclusions regarding the differences and similarities in the approach of both countries to energy policy. The “Challenges and Prospects” section identifies potential challenges and presents opportunities and recommendations for the future. In conclusion, the article provides a thorough analysis, based on the methodology of a literature review, survey questionnaire, and tabular analysis, and contains important conclusions and implications for energy policy in Poland and Germany. The article also addresses the limitations of the study that may affect the interpretation of the results.
... To progress with a transition, decisions must be made, some that negatively affect part of the population. While there are examples of meaningful interactions between proponents and opponents of transitions in participatory processes, their interaction is not always benefitting the transition ambitions (Galgóczi, 2020). This can make it unattractive for organisers of decision-making processes to organise inclusive participatory processes. ...
Within food systems transitions debates, various arguments are given for inclusive citizen participation in decision-making processes. This article critically discusses these arguments through an integrative literature study. We link scientific papers on transition studies, public participation, inclusivity, and food system research to discuss the need for and relevance of inclusive citizen participation in food systems transitions. The article distinguishes five arguments for the inclusion of citizens in decision-making processes: normative, substantive, legitimate, social learning, and empowerment arguments. These arguments are connected to various dynamics relevant to a transition process. This study shows that there is a fundamental tension between food systems transition thinking and inclusive participation. This tension plays out differently in different dynamics of food systems transitions. Therefore, we propose that the most meaningful form of inclusive citizen participation differs for each dynamic of food systems transitions.
... Research highlights that participation is crucial not only for fairness but also for ensuring the long-term success and legitimacy of climate policies [95,96]. Additionally, fostering trust through transparent processes is vital as it enhances cooperation and collective action, which are vital for achieving sustainable outcomes [97,98]. In this context, studies suggest that long-term success depends on community-specific interventions rather than one-size-fits-all policies [99]. ...
This paper explores the intersection between transformative resilience and just transitions, two increasingly significant frameworks in the context of environmental and socio-economic adaptation. Applying a systematic literature review, this paper examines how these concepts are defined and identifies both overlapping and non-overlapping dimensions within the existing literature. The analysis then shifts to consider the role of welfare state policies in reinforcing these connections. Specifically, this study assesses how physical social infrastructure, welfare state provisions, and eco-social policies are able to bridge the concepts of transformative resilience and just transitions. The findings indicate a notable gap in the literature connecting transformative resilience and just transition, despite the potential for aligning these concepts. This paper thus contributes to the theoretical foundation for discussing transformative resilience and just transitions together, underscoring the need for inclusive policies in sustainable development frameworks.
... Berbagai riset telah menunjukkan betapa sosial dialog dan negosiasi-negosiasi tripartit antara pekerja, pengusaha, dan pemerintah memiliki imbas positif terhadap kondisi hubungan industrial di suatu negara (Fashoyin, 2004;Galgóczi, 2020;Han, Jang, & Kim, 2010;Ozaki & Rueda-Catry, 2000). Dalam konteks Indonesia, keberadaan Dewan Pengupahan merupakan salah satu bentuk dialog tripartit yang paling nyata. ...
Tindakan Pemerintah menerbitkan Permenaker 18/2022 yang mengatur formulasi upah minimum tahun 2023 menuai polemik. Kebijakan ini didukung sebagian besar serikat pekerja karena berimbas pada kenaikan UMP dan UMK dengan margin lebih tinggi dibanding kebijakan sebelumnya, namun ditolak oleh mayoritas organisasi pengusaha karena menyimpangi PP 36/2021 tentang Pengupahan. Artikel ini meninjau formula penetapan upah minimum 2023 dari kerangka kebijakan pengupahan, dan menemukan bahwa kebijakan ini lebih memberikan rasa keadilan dan membawa kemanfaatan jika dibandingkan dengan formula menurut PP 36/2021 maupun PP 78/2015. Variabel alfa (a) dalam formula upah minimum 2023 membuka ruang dialog dan negosiasi tripartit yang telah lama terkunci dalam Dewan Pengupahan. Hal ini diharapkan akan mampu merevitalisasi peran Dewan Pengupahan, dan karenanya kebijakan formulasi upah minimum 2023 penting untuk dipertahankan.
... Furthermore, the emergence of three types of climate transition perspectives indicate that transformative change may not be opposed if the specific interventions used to guide climate transitions are accepted by particular sectors. Indeed, research into low carbon transitions is increasingly focused on how transitional assistance policies and strategies can be used to implement transitions in a way that is politically acceptable, equitable, and just towards affected sectors, regions and workers [51][52][53][54][55] . ...
... However, achieving a sustainable and equitable transition requires integrated efforts that combine inclusive policies, economic diversification, social equity promotion, continuous education, and international cooperation [16]. Additionally, international organizations play a crucial role in facilitating dialogue and ensuring that benefits are distributed fairly, thereby contributing to global climate goals [14,35,45]. ...
... Conversely, some social policies, such as the proposed cap on maximum income and wealth, could help to reduce excessive consumption and the ensuing damage to the environment (Buch-Hansen and Koch, 2019;François et al., 2023). This synergy provides an underlying rationale for several concepts that are gaining a great deal of traction at present, such as the eco-social state (Koch and Fritz, 2014;Zimmermann and Graziano, 2020;Jakobsson et al., 2018), sustainable welfare (Büchs and Koch, 2017;Büchs, 2021;Hirvilammi, 2020;Bohnenberger, 2020), just transition (Galgóczi, 2020;Wang and Lo, 2021) and eco-social policies (Gough, 2013;Gugushvili and Otto, 2023;Mandelli, 2022;Laruffa et al., 2022;Gough, 2021). ...
Environmental and social policy measures can both complement and contradict each other. Recent environmental sociology literature suggests that this dual relationship can give rise to eco‐social divides in European societies, as some people either endorse or reject both types of measures, while some support one set of policies but not the other. In the current paper, we use data from the British Social Attitudes survey to investigate eco‐social divides in Great Britain. The results confirm the presence of four sizeable attitudinal groups with distinct combinations of welfare and environmental preferences. The sizes of the groups have nevertheless changed considerably over time, with people who are simultaneously in favour of welfare and environmental measures becoming more numerous, and the opponents of both measures becoming fewer. Cultural conservatism/progressiveness, age and political party allegiance are key predictors of eco‐social attitudinal group membership.
... While industrial unions from fossil fuel sectors have a growing interest in transformations emphasizing in-K dustrial decarbonization, e.g. for competitive reasons (Nahm 2022), their overarching narratives tend to be technology-centered, status quo-protective, and defensive. In contrast, most service and construction unions are closer to more transformative approaches and tend to engage in policy debates encompassing broader societal issues actively (Räthzel and Uzzell 2011;Keil and Kreinin 2022;Kalt 2022;Galgóczi 2020). ...
To break the vicious circle of mutually reinforcing climate and social crises, there is a rapidly growing literature around integrated public policy instruments called eco-social policies. The actors potentially drive such policies in public debate and the policy process remains under-researched. This paper elaborates on the positioning of various non-state actors on eco-social policies and potential alliance-building in Germany. It derives hypotheses from the existing literature on the role of trade unions, social- and environmental non-governmental organizations, and social movements in eco-social transformation. It tests them empirically on a dataset of public communication and uses a combination of computer-assisted text-analytic tools, namely text mining and structural topic modeling. The findings indicate that although eco-social themes as cross-cutting issues offer good conditions for alliance-building, actors differ widely in their potential to do so. Based on actors’ eco-social broadness and transformational intensity, the paper finds four clusters: a status quo supporter, an activist, a pragmatic, and an eco-social alliance cluster and discusses possible strategies for them. The findings highlight the relevance of service sector unions and social non-governmental organizations as they could act as a bridge to connect social and ecological interests. The paper’s contribution to the Special Issue is twofold: It addresses the policy dimension by examining what issues actors raise about ecological and social concerns. In terms of politics , it gains insights into actors’ positioning and their strategic alliance-building. Both shed light on the potential for eco-social change.
... Emerging in the late 20th century, just transition was built around a call to protect workers, their families, and communities when and where jobs and opportunities were impacted by environmental change, policy, or regulation (Galgóczi, 2020;Stevis, 2023;Wilgosh et al., 2022). The key point of departure was to identify the protection of livelihoods and the protection of the environment (at various scales, including the workplace) as entangled and interdependent, but often conflicting within and between different occupations, communities, and social groups (spatially and temporally), and in need of political intervention. ...
The notion of ‘just transition’ (JT) is an attempt to align climate and energy objectives with the material concerns of industrial workers, frontline communities, and marginalised groups. Despite the potential for fusing social and environmental justice, there is growing concern that the concept is being mobilised in practice as a form of ‘climate delayism’: a problem more ambiguous than open forms of denialism as it draws in multiple and conflictual agents, practices, and discourses. Using an historical materialist framework, attentive to both energy-capital and capital-labour relations, we show how JT is vulnerable to forces and relations of climate delay across both fossil capital and climate capital hegemonic projects. We review this through an engagement with the climate obstructionism literature and the theory of labour environmentalism: the political engagement of trade unionists and workers with environmental issues. As tensions within the labour movement surface amidst the unsettling of the carbon capital hegemony, we assess the degree to which (organised) labour—as an internally differentiated, contradictory movement—is participating in climate breakdown through a ‘praxis of delay’. Trade unions and industrial workers are often implicated in resisting or undermining transitions, but this is related significantly to their structural power relations vis a vis the fossil hegemony. Notably, JT negotiations are themselves structurally embedded within the carbon capital economy. The general preferences of trade unions for social over environmental justice might be prevalent but are neither universal nor inevitable; JT is open and contested political terrain, and labour-environmental struggles remain imperative for building just energy futures.
... On that basis, they concluded the Austrian vehicle industry was well placed to move into a decarbonised future, largely because of the adaptability of its workforce and other industry participants. The critical role of trade unions in enabling a just transition was also emphasised by Galgóczi's (2020) analysis of change in the coal and automotive industry across Europe. Krzywdzinski (2020) used a mixed methods approach to consider change in Germany's automotive industry and concluded that while transition to a low carbon future may potentially benefit some suppliers and the industry as a whole, outcomes were likely to be highly differentiated across the elements of the production process, and the regional impacts are likely to be unequal. ...
... The transition to electric vehicles has major economic, social, and environmental implications (Mönnig et al., 2019;Galgóczi, 2020) and is essential for addressing both current and future energy and climate crises, given that road transport is among the activities that most contribute to climate change, accounting for some 16 % of global emissions (IEA, 2023). This process of transformation necessarily affects the overall automotive sector, which has been central in industrialized economies in terms of contributions to GDP, volume of employment, and significant interconnections with other sectors of activity (Mohammad & Shavarebi, 2019;López-Calle et al., 2020). ...
... In the academic literature on JT, it is still noticeable that the JT approach is a bottom-up approach developed from trade unions. Formulating strategies for the practice and analysing routes for implementation is a vital part of the debate (Sharman, 2021;Galgóczi, 2020;Routledge et al., 2018). The analysis of power relations and the discussion of social dialogue in a more traditional sense (i.e. ...
The article discusses five literature strands’ approaches towards social protection systems in the context of climate crisis: Adaptive Social Protection, Just Transition, Green New Deal, Post-growth, and Eco-feminism. As we argue, these five strands are located on a spectrum between a green growth orientation and a green anti-capitalist orientation. Furthermore, they differ in terms of their problematisation of the climate crisis and have different perspectives on relevant actors, on world regions, and – most relevant in the context of social welfare – their conceptualisation of social protection. While Adaptive Social Protection emphasizes cash transfers and insurances, Green New Deal and Just Transition approaches focus more on redistribution and labour market policies, and Post-growth and Eco-feminist approaches more on universalist policies and systems. We argue that these literatures each have their weaknesses, but also offer urgent questions, concepts, and insights for further social policy research.
The relationship between land utilization and food security in Nigeria is increasingly important as the country transitions to more sustainable energy sources. As the demand for land grows, driven by both agricultural and energy needs, the challenge of balancing food production with renewable energy infrastructure development becomes critical. This research explores the macroeconomic impact of the energy transition on Nigerian food security and supply from 2000 to 2021, using data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) and FAOSTAT. The dependent variables are land utilization (LdU), gross domestic product (GDP), energy transition (EgT), agricultural value added (AVA), and urbanization (Urb), while the independent variable is food supply (FSS). Descriptive statistics, unit root, correlation test, FMOLS, and Granger causality were employed to derive the research verdicts and evaluate the study’s objectives. The unit root of stationarity utilizing both ADF and PP shows that all the variables were of the first difference order integration I(1). The FMOLS estimated results indicate that LdU (− 1439.20), GDP (− 33.11), AVA (6.87), and Urb (85.71) were statistically significant at a 1% level influencing food security and supply. On the other hand, food security and supply are only slightly impacted by the energy transition. The Granger causality test demonstrates that some of the variables are subject to short-run causality. Therefore, this research suggests policies to minimize land degradation and integrate food security, energy transition, and sustainable agriculture into national policies.
One of the key challenges of the decarbonisation process to mitigate climate change is how to maintain labour market balance and safeguard social welfare policies during the green transition linked to digitalisation and demographic change. While many jobs in carbon-intensive sectors are being lost or transformed, there is an increasingly obvious shortage of skilled workers in green sectors. An overview of the social and labour market impacts and trends of the green transition is hampered by the fact that a generally accepted approach and conceptual framework for the concept of green jobs has not yet been developed, and its embeddedness in the labour market is assessed based on different methodological measures. Drawing on the relevant literature, surveys and databases, the paper argues that the EU’s ‘just transition’ initiative is an essential tool and precondition for the green transition, which requires both the mapping of processes that facilitate the adaptation of labour market mechanisms and the tailor-made use of surveys that underpin evidence-based approaches.
The global transition to renewable sources of energy has become a pressing imperative as countries strive to mitigate climate change and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. However, amidst the prevailing discourses, a critical detail that often escapes the spotlight is the disproportionate distribution of the burdens and benefits arising from this transition. Frequently, when prioritising macro-level climate commitments, the localised impacts of interventions implemented at the community level are often overlooked and disregarded. Unless adequate policy measures are taken to address these impacts a shift to renewables will only exacerbate pre-existing inequities that could potentially threaten the sustainability of the transition. Thus, the following chapter intends to shed light on the effectiveness of social dialogue as a policy instrument to address the equity and distributional justice concerns associated with the energy transition. Furthermore, this review will be enhanced through the inclusion of case studies from three different countries, at different stages of the energy transition. These case studies will examine instances where communities have faced significant challenges resulting from the transition as well as situations where governments have implemented adequate measures to foster inclusivity and social justice, ensuring that the renewable energy transition benefits all stakeholders equitably.
Coal-dependent communities and regions are at the frontline of the global energy transition, with net-zero scenarios requiring unprecedented sharp decreases in coal use and production in the next few decades. Rapid decarbonization in these ‘coal-dependent’ regions can result in high disruptiveness and trigger socio-political resistance across both the acceleration of coal phase-outs (decline) and clean energy phase-ins (diffusion). Lack of social acceptance (SA) stands as a critical bottleneck risking slowing down the pace of the transition. Governance strategies seeking the acceleration of coal transitions will therefore need to strike a delicate balance between disruptiveness and acceptance. We argue that fostering acceptance, for instance through just transition (JT) policies, does not simply serve as a means to pursue ‘just’ transition processes, but rather as a fundamental acceleration strategy for decline and diffusion dynamics that unfold simultaneously. To substantiate this argument, we conduct a narrative review cutting across the literature on JTs and SA of renewables’ innovations, and reinterpret them using a socio-technical (sustainability) transition perspective to outline three core propositions: (i) justice perceptions underlie acceptance; (ii) acceptance precedes reorientation; (iii) reorientation as a transition acceleration strategy. We then outline an integrative research agenda to renew the scientific focus towards the interconnections between justice-acceptance-acceleration in the ongoing transitions in coal-dependent regions and elsewhere.
Questo articolo, dopo aver descritto la natura della sfida climatica, discute il ruolo dei sindaca-ti in Paesi diversi come Francia, Germania, Cina e Corea del Sud. Si sostiene che nel sistema di codeterminazione tedesco, i sindacati sono in grado di influenzare fin dalle prime fasi la direzione strategica dell'azienda. Ciò ha portato a importanti garanzie in materia di manteni-mento del posto di lavoro, salari e formazione professionale in aziende come Basf, a seguito della crisi finanziaria globale, e Airbus Deutschland in relazione a un'altra grande sfida indu-striale, l'avvento delle tecnologie digitali. Ogni sistema di relazioni industriali presenta van-taggi e svantaggi ma, si sostiene, essere presenti mentre il management prende le decisioni, piuttosto che rispondere in seguito, è la migliore possibilità per il sindacato di influenzare le grandi scelte che saranno necessarie per raggiungere una transizione giusta verso un'economia a zero emissioni nette.
This article aims to identify contradictions between visions of just transition and their realisation in practice, particularly the extent to which labour and nature are respected, with examples of forestry in Sweden and the beet sugar industry in Denmark. The case studies provide insight into the formation and local implementations of the just transition vision promoted by the ITUC and ILO, representing a call for the ecological modernisation of the economy. The cases illustrate its Northern European roots and limitations. Although a multi-scalar perspective positions union agency as embedded in interwoven spatial scales, particular power relations remain prevalent. Despite being formally represented through social dialogue structures at the national and European levels, Swedish and Danish unions appear to have limited involvement at the local level, with environmental and social justice effectively defined by corporate social responsibility policies. The apparent consensus hides a series of challenges: employment rights and protections in the transition, including for a significant number of migrant workers, meaningful union involvement on the ground, and a light-touch approach to environmental concerns so as not to disrupt production objectives. Ultimately, nature and labour remain positioned against each other, and unions are caught between environmentalists and employers.
The Handbook for the Future of Work offers a timely and critical analysis of the transformative forces shaping work and employment in the twenty-first century. Focusing on the past two decades, the handbook explores how technological advancements, automation and a shifting capitalist landscape have fundamentally reshaped work practices and labour relations. Beyond simply outlining the challenges and opportunities of automation, the handbook integrates these emerging realities with established discussions of work. Importantly, it moves beyond dominant technology-centric narratives, probing into broader questions about the nature of capitalism in a time of crisis and the contestation for alternative economic models. With contributions from established and emerging authors, based in institutions around the world, the handbook offers a systematic overview of the developments that have sparked radical shifts in how we live and work, and their multifaceted impacts upon social relations and identities, practices and sectors, politics and environments. The handbook is unique in its exploration of the potential for economic transformations to reshape the centrality of work in our social and political imaginaries. A useful resource for students and researchers, the handbook serves as an essential guide to this new intellectual landscape.
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La partecipazione dei lavoratori e delle comunità coinvolte è stata identificata come elemento chiave nei processi di Transizione Giusta. Inoltre, la letteratura degli Environmental Labour Studies ha indagato alcune delle condizioni contestuali e i motivi per cui i sindacati a volte si oppongono o ritardano le transizioni ecologiche, e altre volte le supportano con un ruolo trasformativo. Questo articolo analizza un caso di transizione energetica dal carbone in Italia con una forte partecipazione "dal basso", la centrale elettrica a carbone Enel di Torrevaldaliga Nord (Civitavecchia) sotto il controllo Enel, in cui ha giocato un ruolo di rilievo il protagonismo sindacale. Il contributo cerca di far luce sui processi attraverso i quali si è sviluppato questo protagonismo, tale da costruire una negoziazione sociale nel territorio con le Istituzioni nella direzione di una Transizione Giusta, grazie all'apporto essenziale di due fattori precipui ? la valorizzazione della cooperazione con esperti e saperi eterogenei, e la coalizione tra sindacati e organizzazioni ambientaliste ? focalizzandosi in particolar modo su un anno di snodo centrale, il 2019. Il saggio rappresenta un work in progress, presentando alcuni risultati di una prima fase di ricerca sul campo che ha permesso di raccogliere 33 interviste semi-strutturate.
This paper explores and presents some preliminary findings on how the "green transition" is an issue in collective agreements in Germany.
Australia is the largest coal exporter in the world, and the rural Hunter Valley in New South Wales is the source of much of this coal. Air and water pollution from surface mining operations is a concern here as with other mining locations around the world. Over the next 20 years, 17 mines are scheduled to close with 130,000 hectares of mined owned land to be relinquished for alternative land use. The debate about rehabilitation and repurposing of mined and mined-owned lands is, however, still in its infancy. The public debate about mine closure has focused on economic concerns as these link to the ideals of a just transition, and little attention has been offered to how landscape regeneration and rehabilitation present both as challenges and opportunities for post-mining futures. The question of mining legacy opens up many questions, but of particular concern are the issues linked to 25 so-called final voids. As the mining industry wraps up, these final voids constitute the area that will not be back-filled at the end of mining operations. They have been approved by the NSW Government to be left as holes in the ground, with the remediation plans focusing on bringing them to the state of "stable, safe and non-polluting". Whilst the remediation plans ensure that the voids will be left in an ecologically sound state, what this means for community and landscape remains uncertain. This chapter takes the final voids as its empirical starting point and interrogates what challenges these voids present for local communities in a post-mining future. It explores the wicked problem of the final voids, and, drawing on data collected as part of writing a community-endorsed Blueprint for Restoration, we question how ruination and hope may come together in a path for just transition.
This article addresses the decarbonization of the French public research sector via a novel form of scientific mobilization: Labos 1point5, a group of research personnel, whose strategy is partly based on developing and then distributing a carbon calculator to estimate the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted by French public research laboratories, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) or “carbon footprint.” Here, I question the effects of this quantification on laboratories’ approach to decarbonization. Commensuration of research practices through an estimation that is not centered on a specific practice (such as travel) or limited to certain instruments (e.g., telescopes, supercomputers, computer hardware) opens up the boundaries of responsibility attribution. I identify three forms of tensions that arise during this process: a tension in terms of level of responsibilities, a material and disciplinary tension, and finally, a definitional tension, in the sense of “boundary-work” (Gieryn, 1983), in which this initiative is simultaneously labeled as scientific and activist.
L’Union Européenne (UE) souhaite devenir climatiquement neutre d’ici 2050, engendrant un impact considérable sur les acteurs de la société, y compris les travailleurs et les syndicats. Les secteurs industriels figurent parmi les secteurs qui doivent relever les plus grands défis liés à la décarbonisation. Dans cette étude, nous examinons les positions des syndicats et les facteurs qui influencent leurs attitudes, leurs stratégies et leurs actions vis-à-vis de la décarbonisation. A partir de trois études de cas menées dans différents secteurs industriels et pays de l’UE, nous constatons que les attitudes des syndicats à l’égard de la décarbonisation ne sont souvent pas aussi conservatrices que la littérature le suggère. Bien que les contextes régionaux, nationaux et industriels soient importants, leurs influences ne sont pas aussi dominantes qu’escomptées. Malgré les défis rencontrés par les syndicats, ils semblent soutenir la décarbonisation, cherchant à assurer une transition juste pour leurs membres et les travailleurs impliqués.
Purpose
Just transition is a fundamental concept for supply chain management but neither discipline pays attention to the other and little is known about how supply chains can be orchestrated as socioecological systems to manage these transitions. Building from a wide range of just transition examples, this paper explores just transition to understand how to move beyond instrumental supply chain practices to supply chains functioning in harmony with the planet and its people.
Design/methodology/approach
Building from a systematic review of 72 papers, the paper identifies just transition examples while interpreting them through the theoretical lens of supply chain management, providing valuable insights to help research and practice understand how to achieve low-carbon economies through supply chain management in environmentally and socially just ways.
Findings
The paper defines, elaborates, and extends the just transition construct by developing a transition taxonomy with two key dimensions. The purpose dimension (profit or shared outcomes) and the governance dimension (government-/industry-led versus civil society-involved), generating four transition archetypes. Most transitions projects are framed around the Euro- and US-centric, capitalist standards of development, leading to coloniality as well as economic and cultural depletion of communities. Framing just transition in accordance with context-specific plural values, the paper provides an alternative perspective to the extractive transition concept. This can guide supply chain management to decarbonise economies and societies by considering the rights of nature, communities and individuals.
Originality/value
Introducing just transition into the supply chain management domain, this paper unifies the various conceptualisations of just transition into a holistic understanding, providing a new foundation for supply chain management research.
The article is devoted to the study of the European Union member states’ experience in the field of maintaining social dialogue during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The author explores strategies for maintaining social dialogue, defines their specific features, and determines the risks within their implementation. It is revealed that the approbation of these strategies forced the national authorities of all EU member states to switch to tripartite consultations, characterized by a high level of representation. The priorities of the social dialogue during the pandemic aimed at ensuring the basic rights of workers in the European Union in various sectors are investigated. Measures ensuring health and safety of workers were put at the forefront. Social partners expected to overcome the main difficulties caused by the pandemic with the help of state support measures. At the same time, they raised topical issues of modeling the economic and social post-crisis recovery. The contribution of social partners to the training and professional development of skilled labor during the pandemic is being established. Effective practices are considered to contribute to the expansion of education opportunities and advanced training of employees through the conclusion of collective agreements with the formation of accounts for such an education. The mechanism of adaptation to the changing labor market using the transfer of workers to remote work is shown. It is emphasized that trade unions have chosen offensive tactics in dialogue with employers, seeking to protect the interests of employees when switching to remote work. It is concluded that the EU countries as a whole managed to overcome the risks of curtailing the social dialogue.
Le Canada se caractérise par l’importance économique de ses secteurs industriels polluants. Le pays a eu un engagement tardif sur les questions environnementales, avant de lancer une politique volontariste après 2015. Les organisations syndicales s’y démarquent par un engagement en faveur des politiques de transition juste et de partenariats avec les organisations écologistes. Le cas agricole et la loi de décarbonation de 2021 illustrent les défis récents posés aux syndicats canadiens.
Can workplace industrial democracy be a tool of transformative working-class empowerment in the contemporary context of liberalised industrial relations? We argue that in the presence of specific historical legacies and organisational circumstances, radical forms of workplace industrial democracy can contribute to the strengthening of workers' structural, associational, societal and ideational power resources, even under hostile conditions of labour-capital balance of power. After providing a conceptual definition of radical industrial democracy, we develop our argument by showing its workings in practice in a salient case of industrial restructuring, that of the former GKN plant in Florence, Italy. Since summer 2021, GKN workers have undertaken a long-lasting mobilisation against the plant closure and for its reindustrialisation, in the perspective of a productive reconversion compatible with the concept of just transition. We show how the practices of radical industrial democracy embedded in the GKN plant played a key role in shoring up workers' power resources, supporting the long-lasting mobilisation and the convergence with other social movements. Our findings underscore that radical industrial democracy can be a key asset to cultivate autonomous working-class power. It needs, however, to be backed up by broader institutional and political infrastructures to lead to transformative outcomes.
A transição tecnológica e ecológica estão gerando efeitos profundos e disruptivos no mercado de trabalho, colocando em discussão as formas tradicionais de prestação da atividade laboral e gerando novas possibilidades de trabalho. O presente artigo tem como objetivo evidenciar a permanente correlação entre trabalho-ambiente (e tecnologia), demonstrando como questões ambientais e trabalhistas devem ser estudadas conjuntamente para que a implementação das leis de defesa do meio ambiente não tenha impacto negativo no mercado de trabalho (e vice-versa). A pesquisa irá se concentrar no importante papel das organizações sindicais nas políticas ambientais e sociais, bem como nas medidas tomadas em âmbito internacional para garantir uma transição justa para uma economia de baixo carbono. Resumo: O texto discute os impactos da transição tecnológica e ecológica no direito do trabalho. A transição tecnológica está gerando novas formas de trabalho, como a gig economy, que conta predominantemente com cargos temporários e parciais, ocupados por trabalhadores autônomos e freelancers. Mesmo nas relações de trabalho empregatícias, as novas tecnologias estão criando uma real desmaterialização do local de trabalho, permitindo que um grande número de trabalhadores possa realizar as próprias atividades com a mesma produtividade em modalidade remota. A transição ecológica, por sua vez, está impactando diretamente a economia, as indústrias e, de consequência, a ocupação, formação e saúde dos trabalhadores. As normas climáticas mais vinculantes podem levar ao fechamento de indústrias e à perda de empregos em setores que são intensivos em carbono, como a mineração de carvão ou a produção de petróleo e gás. O artigo defende que questões ambientais e trabalhistas devem ser estudadas conjuntamente para que a implementação das leis de defesa do meio ambiente não tenha impacto negativo no mercado de trabalho. Para isso, é importante garantir uma transição justa, que proteja os direitos dos trabalhadores e as comunidades que são mais vulneráveis aos impactos da mudança climática. As organizações sindicais desempenham um papel importante nas políticas ambientais e sociais. Elas podem contribuir para a construção de uma transição justa, representando os interesses dos trabalhadores e pressionando os governos e as empresas para que adotem medidas que protejam os direitos trabalhistas e o meio ambiente. A pesquisa proposta pelo artigo irá se concentrar no importante papel das organizações sindicais nas políticas ambientais e sociais, bem como nas medidas tomadas em âmbito internacional para garantir uma transição justa para uma economia de baixo carbono.
Proposals for a just transition for labour have been largely restricted to debates about transitions from the coal and oil industries. However, the transitions under way, especially in the context of the climate crisis, are more widespread. Hence the debates about a just transition from carbon-intensive industries should be refined and extended; otherwise, there is a prospect of rhetorical gesturing and little substantive change. Alongside these debates, planning guidelines are in place to encourage the adoption of circular economy practices to address questions relating to material sustainability, especially in the context of the encroaching climate crisis. Relatively little attention has been given to the implications for work and employment relationships of realizing the increasingly popular ambition to reuse, recycle and re-manufacture material inputs, waste and end-of-life products. To address these themes, the focus here is on the importance of a developed worker-focused just transition in Australian housing construction, and by implication other industries. The argument is twofold. First, an effective worker-based approach means participative and engaged labour unions pursuing transition objectives. Second, moves toward a circular economy require a just transition for the workforce. Such a transition must be planned and inclusive, with workers and their organizations as active subjects in the process. Hence, different strategies are required when unions are not in a position to speak for the whole workforce. We propose that alliances based on unions and other bodies that support workers and their households (such as environmental and other advocacy groups) become critical to the creation of a sustainable and just circular economy. Alliance politics, supported by appropriate government regulation, can become the basis to overcome the partiality and fragmentation of union representation.
Abstract
Proposals for a just transition for labour have been largely restricted to debates about transitions in coal regions. Yet a just transition for labour should apply to all industries. Alongside these debates, planning guidelines are in place to encourage the adoption of circular economy practices to address questions relating to material sustainability, especially in the context of the encroaching climate crisis. Surprisingly, few people have considered the implications of such changes for work and employment relationships. Unless a just transition is pursued, current inequalities in the housing construction industry are likely to intensify and remain embedded. The argument is that moves toward a circular economy in Australian housing construction require a just transition for the workforce. Such a transition must be planned and inclusive.
Justice in sustainability transitions requires states to design transition policies that ‘leave no‐one behind’. Emphasising fairness, however, may entail slowing or scaling down the impetus of sustainability transition. To examine this risk empirically, we analysed how stakeholders frame justice in deliberating policy measures needed to support just transition in agricultural land use and dietary changes, the cornerstones of building healthier and climate friendlier food systems in Finland. The results show that justice frames focus on the potential impacts of transition, largely ignore global scale, and prioritise social justice claims at the cost of environmental ambition. To create just and environmentally effective policies, policymakers need to consider justice at the level of policy‐mixes combining environmental and social policies. Furthermore, they need to acknowledge systemic injustices present in existing systems while striving towards just transition.
Il saggio mostra come le attuali trasformazioni sociali ed economiche abbiano modificato, ancorché in misura diversa, le principali categorie del diritto del lavoro. L'evoluzione normativa ha ridotto il ruolo qualificatorio della categoria della subordinazione, a seguito dell'estensione di molte tutele proprie del lavoro subordinato a lavori aventi tratti misti di autonomia e subordinazione e ad attività autonome di soggetti socialmente deboli. La categoria dell'interesse collettivo, fondativa del diritto sindacale, è stata alterata dalla frammentazione dei lavori e delle condizioni dei lavoratori, e poi dalle tendenze alla individualizzazione dei rapporti economici e personali. Tale trasformazione richiede alla contrattazione di trovare nuovi strumenti per conciliare gli interessi individuali con quelli collettivi e delle organizzazioni. Il riconoscimento della contrattazione collettiva nel settore pubblico ha modificato alcuni (non tutti) i tratti tipici dei rapporti di pubblico impiego, e attivato processi di osmosi e di adattamento reciproco. Il welfare privato ha assunto alcune regole comuni di funzionamento con quelle della previdenza pub-blica, ferma restando la differenza dei sistemi di finanziamento.
Depuis la fin des années 1980, les syndicats sont attachés au projet de « modernisation sociale et écologique ». Ils considèrent toutefois la priorité des enjeux environnementaux de manière variable dans le temps et s’allient avec les employeurs pour défendre certaines industries non soutenables. Mais à la fin des années 2010, les syndicats de l’industrie entament un tournant et soutiennent activement la transformation, en cherchant à peser sur les termes de la reconversion des industries et de leurs métiers. Dans les services publics, l’écologie syndicale est beaucoup moins développée en raison de leur moindre exposition aux pressions émanant des réglementations environnementales.
This chapter presents four possible scenarios for Africa’s net-zero energy transition in the era of decarbonization. The window of opportunity for Africa to achieve a net-zero future is closing, and the pathways to a decarbonized economy by 2050 are narrowing globally. It is unclear how much of the burden African countries will bear and how they can benefit from an increasingly decarbonized world. Due to a lack of resources, limited access to technology, subpar governance, political unpredictability, and the need for sizable capital investments, African nations may run the risk of falling behind in the global energy transition. Through technical assistance, capacity building, and financial resources, global partners must help African countries develop and deploy environmentally friendly energy sources. The four potential scenarios for an African net-zero energy transition are aided and harsher scenarios; collaboration and a calculated transition; unaided and self-sufficient in exports; and a tangled and trapped transition. The transition to net-zero energy in Africa requires significant capital investment and global partnerships for technical assistance, capacity building, and access to finance. There are four potential scenarios: aided and harsher, collaboration and calculated transition, unaided and self-sufficient exports, and trapped transitions. Each scenario presents challenges and opportunities, and a successful transition requires careful planning, collaboration, and sustained investment from African countries and their global partners.
‘Just transition’ is a concept originally developed by the labour movement to reconcile workers’ rights with the necessity to combat climate change. More recently, supra- and international organisations have also adopted this idea. However, it remains unclear to what extent these actors follow the eco-social ambitions of organised labour. In this article, we develop a conceptual framework to capture diverse just transition approaches by distinguishing between the goal, policy, and governance dimension. We apply a multi-method approach to gauge the extent of variation in the just transition conceptualisations of three actors: the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Union (EU). We identify a cleavage between the ILO where just transition refers to an ambitious eco-social agenda on the one hand, and the IMF’s emphasis on macroeconomic adaptation on the other. The EU takes up a middle position by promoting a ‘green growth’ strategy with medium emphasis on environmental and social risk mitigation.
In this comparative analysis of labor-environmental alliances, it is argued that various forms of unionism and environmentalism help or hinder efforts to transcend narrow sectoral interests. Movement organizations that parallel, and sometimes emulate, grassroots organization, tactics, and discursive practices are better equipped to engage inter-movement, oppositional alliances. This is evident in each of the periods where inter-movement solidarity persisted. First, the efforts to build alliances between the two movements during the early 1970scan be located in the strategies of a handful of social unions and an even smaller group of environmental groups with concerns for social justice and full employment. Secondly, active grassroots mobilizations during the late 1970s and 1980s in both movements transformed the character of several leading social movement organizations. Finally, the broad alliance that challenged NAFTA makes evident that key sources of intermovement solidarity stem from the way in which larger movement organizations responded to, or were redefined by these movements from below, i.e. social movement unionism and environmental justice, respectively.
Earth system models suggest that soil-moisture variability and trends will induce large carbon releases throughout the twenty-first century.
Questions of justice in the transition to a green economy have been raised by various social forces. Very few proposals, however, have been as focused and developed as the “just transition” strategy proposed by global labour unions. Yet, labour unions are remarkably absent from discussions of the transition towards a green economy. This is surprising as labour unions are arguably the largest organizations in the world fighting for basic rights and more just social relations. This paper tries to advance the potential contribution of labour unions in this arena by asking: what is the full scope of “just transition” today and how have labour unions developed and refined it over the years to render the move towards a green economy both environmentally and socially sustainable? The concept of just transition is hotly debated within labour unions and has different interpretations, and hence different strategies. The last section assesses these interpretations by means of a normative framework, which seeks to fuse political economy and political ecology. Empirically, we add to the growing literature on labour environmentalism, as well as transitions more generally. Analytically, our goal is to place the various approaches to a “just transition” within a heuristic framework of environmental justice that is explicit about power relations when demanding justice, two themes central to this special issue.
This paper explores the political economy of the ‘just transition’ to a low carbon economy. The idea of a ‘just transition’ increasingly features in policy and political discourse and appeals to the need to ensure that efforts to steer society towards a lower carbon future are underpinned by attention to issues of equity and justice: to those currently without access to reliable energy supplies and living in energy poverty and to those whose livelihoods are affected by and dependent on a fossil fuel economy. To complicate things further this transition has to be made compatible with the pursuit of ‘climate justice’ to current and future generations exposed to the social and ecological disruptions produced by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Here we seek to identify and analyse the immensely difficult political trade-offs that will characterise collective attempts to enact and realise a just transition. We explore procedural and distributional aspects of energy politics and practice in particular as they relate to the just transition: energy access for those who do not have it; justice for those who work within and are affected by the fossil fuel economy; and attempts to manage the potential contradictions that might flow from pursuing energy and climate justice simultaneously.
With the enlargement of the European Union its “Rustbelt”, the mosaic of regions traditionally specialised in heavy industries such as coal and steel, will also be enlarged. The new member states in Eastern Europe have many regions that face industrial decline and need to be restructured. What can these traditional industrial areas learn from the case of the German Ruhrgebiet, one of Europe’s most prominent examples of regional industrial restructuring?
The ‘just transition’ is a concept receiving more attention in the literature to-date. This critical review discusses this and how there are overlaps with literature on energy, environmental and climate justice. Within the separate energy, environment and climate change scholar communities, there is too much distortion of what the ‘transition’ means and what ‘justice’ means, and they all should be understood within the just transition concept. To increase public understanding and public acceptance of a just transition, these research communities need to unite rather than continue alone.
1. Introduction: Towards a Socio-Economics of Industrial Networks Gernot Grabher , Social Science Centre, Berlin Part I: Blurring Boundaries: Explaining Inter-Firm Co-operation in Networks 2. The Network as a Governance Structure Hakan Hakansson and Jan Johanson , both of University of Uppsala, Sweden 3. Explaining Inter-Firm Co-operation and Innovation: The Limits of the Transaction Cost Approach Bengt-Ake Lundvall , Aalborg University, Denmark Part II: High Technology Networks: Horizontal Inter-Firm Cooperation and Strategic Alliances 4. Interfirm Strategic Technology Networks and Modes of Technology Partnering in High-Tech Sectors John Hagedoorn , MERIT, The Netherlands 5. External Growth in the Computer Industry: Organizational Perspectives Mario Benassi , University of Trento, Italy 6. Knowledge in the Network and the Network Knowledge: The Structuring of the Biotechnology and Semiconductor Industries Bruce Kogutand & Weijin Shan , both of the University of Pennsylvania and Gordon Walker , Yale University Part III: Subcontracting Networks: Vertical Inter-Firm Co-operation and Disaggregation of Large Companies 7. An Exit/Voice Approach to Supplier Relations: The Case of the U.S. Automobile Industry Susan Helper , Boston University 8. Small Firms and Outsourcing as Flexibility Reservoirs of Large Companies Klaus Semlinger , Institute for Social Research, Munich 9. Vertical Disaggregation and Privatization in Hungary: Organizational Consequences Laszlo Neumann , Research Institute of Labor, Hungary Part IV: Regional Networks: Embedded in Industrial Districts 10. Factory or Putting-Out? Knitting Networks in Modena Mark H. Lazerson , State University of New York at Stony Brook 11. Power in the Decentralized Industrial Order: The Case of Baden-Wurttemberg Gary B. Herrigel , University of Chicago 12. The Weakness of Strong Ties: The Ambivalent Role of Inter-Firm Cooperation in the Ruhr Area Gernot Grabher , Social Science Centre, Berlin 13. Local, Global Networks: A Return to the Regional Economy? Ash Amin , University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
German unions are waking up to the climate disaster
- M Bergfeld
Deal on new emission standards for cars - Urgent need for addressing social consequences
- Industriall
The long and winding road from black to green: Decades of structural change in the Ruhr region
- B Galgóczi
Just Transition Towards Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies for All
- B Galgóczi
An attempt at preventive action in the transformation of coal-mining regions in Germany
- S Gärtner
Gerechte Energiewende: Sieben Thesen, Stiftung Arbeit und Umwelt
- Ig
- Bce
Sustainable development: A labor view
- B Kohler
A View of Trade Unions as Part of Civil Society
- D Spooner
(Re)claiming just transition. Just Transition Research Collaborative (JTRC)
- D Stevis
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- Ilo
Germany’s long goodbye from coal
- P Litz
Stricter CO2 standards for vehicles are not the reason for job losses
- D Rieger
CO2 emission standards for cars and vans
- European Council
Social dialogue as a driver and governance instrument for sustainable development
- Ilo-Ituc
The Green Parties in Western Europe - A Brief History, Their Successes and Their Problems. Global Greens
- J Maier
A superfund for workers
- T Mazzocchi
The changing role of coal in the Polish economy – Restructuring and (regional) just transition
- A Szpor
Polish Miners’ strike may hit the wall
- M Martewicz
Strengthening just transition policies in international climate governance
- A Rosemberg
Towards a Just Transition: Coal, Cars and the World of Work
- B Galgóczi
Just Transition Research Collaborative (JTRC)
- D Stevis