The political economy of the ‘just transition’

Peter Newell; Dustin Mulvaney

doi:10.1111/geoj.12008

journal article Feb 27, 2013

The political economy of the ‘just transition’

Peter Newell

Dustin Mulvaney

The Geographical Journal Vol. 179 No. 2 pp. 132-140 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/geoj.12008

Abstract

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.

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Metrics

890

Citations

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References

Details

Published: Feb 27, 2013
Vol/Issue: 179(2)
Pages: 132-140
License: View

Authors

P

Peter Newell

Department of International Relations School of Global Studies University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9SN

D

Dustin Mulvaney

San Jose State University 1 Washington Square San Jose CA 95112 USA

Cite This Article

Peter Newell, Dustin Mulvaney (2013). The political economy of the ‘just transition’. The Geographical Journal, 179(2), 132-140. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12008

The political economy of the ‘just transition’

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