Write-Up Compiled on February 19th, 2025 by MES Student Ian Mann
As part of Evergreen’s Climate Lecture Series, the campus community was lucky to have Dr. Mijin Cha, an assistant professor at UC Santa Cruz, join us to discuss the topic of ‘Just Transition: Ensuring Equity in the Shift to a Carbon-Free Economy’ and share her expertise on the subject. Dr Cha’s vision for a Just Transition has two core tenets. First, any effective global strategy for mitigating climate change must include decreasing fossil emissions by transitioning to energy derived from renewable sources like wind and solar. Second, this transition towards renewable energy production must also include just outcomes at all scales.
The history of the Just Transition movement has been intertwined with both the labor justice and environmental justice movements, and Dr Cha’s presentation highlighted the necessity of including labor justice in plans for future energy transitions. Dr. Cha’s vision for a Just Transition focuses on making sure that workers who were previously employed in carbon-intensive industries, such as coal mining or gasoline production, are not left behind in a new and more sustainable future economy. This includes attention towards addressing the effects of economic mono-dependency in areas such as rural Appalachia where there are few economic alternatives to working in the fossil-fuel industry.
To pursue labor justice as part of an energy transition it is vital to recognize that, while workers in such industries contribute to fossil fuel emissions through their day-to-day jobs, it is unjust to blame them or hold them responsible for increased carbon emissions. It is not these workers, but rather the corporations which employ them, who are becoming richer by putting the rest of humanity at risk from the adverse effects of climate change. Many contemporary economic models treat workers as replaceable cogs in the market machine, who will choose to move to new locations in search for better jobs if the opportunities in their area vanish. However, these economic assumptions are nothing but fantasy, as it is painfully obvious that people have other motivations besides job opportunity, such as family ties, communities, and other place-based attachments, which determine whether a geographic move is a viable option for them or not.
In the wake of failed slogans such as former President Biden’s advice that coal workers “learn to code” in order to remain competitive in a green job market, we must recognize that moving to an urban center or learning an entirely new trade is not a possibility for many workers whose jobs will disappear as society pursues a transition towards much-needed green energy infrastructure. Rather, these workers must be provided with new opportunities to contribute to their communities through low-carbon employment without having to leave those communities or having to learn an entirely new set of skills.
Dr. Cha also highlighted the importance of gender equity in labor for a Just Transition. Many high-carbon jobs, such as the examples mentioned above, are situated in male-dominated industries. However, in a discussion of what types of low-carbon employment could be supported in a Just Transition, it is important to consider the fact that many jobs in traditionally “pink-collar” sectors such as teaching, nursing, and care work, are ideal examples of low-carbon employment. Addressing gender inequity across workplaces must also be a part of making sure workers can still make a living as part of the low-carbon sector.
Dr. Cha provided examples of measures that could be taken at many different scales as part of a Just Transition. At regional scales, these could look like opportunities for workers to apply their skills to new greener industries and better adjust to new workplaces rather than having to completely re-skill, providing support for workers during transitions in employment, decoupling health insurance from employment status, and pursuing the elimination of gendered pay gaps both within and across industries. At a global scale, a Just Transition could take the form such as free and open access to renewable technologies across borders, or the strengthening of international climate funding measures through pursuing global strategies that are both equitable and sustainable.
The Evergreen community thanks Dr. Cha for sharing her experience as an academic, author, and organizer who has worked on both theorizing and actualizing a Just Transition, as well as providing an example of effective climate communication and sharing her hope for a brighter future for everyone. Her book on the subject, A Just Transition For All: Workers and Communities for a Carbon Free Future, is sold by MIT Press and can be purchased through the following link: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262550796/a-just-transition-for-all/. It is also available as an open-access eBook here: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5880/A-Just-Transition-for-AllWorkers-and-Communities