In the UK and elsewhere, domestic electricity, gas and heating oil prices have been rising at alarming rates, even before Russian troops invaded Ukraine. If you've already got a very energy-efficient home and travel by bike, you will be cushioned from the worst of this. But if your windows leak heat, your washing machine is energy-hungry and local bus services are a joke, it's swingeingly high bills or cold isolation. Not fair, is it?

What would be fair?

That's the question posed by people looking at a 'just' transition to a low carbon future.

There are a few different kinds of people who we have in mind, when thinking about fairness or justice:

Who is vulnerable? And in transition, who is vulnerable in this change?
Who is responsible for the problem?
Who is powerful?

The vulnerable people include energy users who find themselves with little room for manoeuvre: no savings to invest in energy-efficiency measures, or a different car, or their own domestic renewable energy.

People whose work depends on fossil fuels, or whose local economies are built on fossil carbon, are vulnerable to losing their livelihoods.

Some people are vulnerable to the impacts of our continued use of fossil fuels - from extreme weather, ecosystem collapse, turmoil.

And let's not forget those people whose lives and livelihoods are linked to the low-carbon alternatives: lithium and cobalt mines.

Vulnerabilities for the reasons summarised above also intersect with other vulnerabilities: women, children, poor people, people of colour, people with disabilities... are always among the most vulnerable in any situation.

The people responsible include fossil fuel companies, companies whose products depend on coal, oil and fossil gas when used (motor vehicles, heating systems). We could look more widely too: the lobbyists, advocates and support systems which argue against change; the policy makers who enable and plan for continuing the status quo.

And the powerful people? Power comes from many sources, often interconnected and mutually supporting: financial muscle, political decision-making authority, charisma and communication ability, credibility and connections (whether deserved or not), capacity and willingness to use violence.

Who pays?

Get it wrong, and it's the people who are already vulnerable who end up shouldering the burden of transition, through increased costs or reduced quality of life. If there are costs to the change (investment in new infrastructure, or reduced income from existing investments in the old way of doing things), justice might suggest that either the costs are shared by the whole of society (e.g. through taxation and government spending) or are paid by those who created the problem that the transition is designed to solve. That is, those responsible for it. This is the essence of the 'polluter pays' principle.

Who benefits?

In a 'just' transition to a low carbon economy, who will benefit? Who should benefit? Answers include:

those whose needs are greatest
all of us
those who take risks and invest in the transition
future generations

What does this mean in your situation?

When you think about how this applies to a situation you are working in - your company or organisation, your community, your clients - what are your own answers to these questions, and how well is the 'just' transition going?

Find out more

Here's a small selection of sources about a just transition to a low carbon economy. What else have you come across, that you'd recommend?

All Party Parliamentary Group (UK) "How do we power an affordable net zero economy without the lights going out?" (HT Becky Willis)
IEMA podcast Ep. 10 The Energy Crisis, with Sarah Mukherjee (IEMA), Adam Scorer (National Energy Action) and Richard Lupo (SHIFT Environment)
Lots to read on the New Economics Foundation's website, including this on a Green New Deal.
The UK's Climate Assembly centred 'fairness' in their recommendations "Fairness within the UK, including for the most vulnerable (affordability, jobs, UK regions, incentives and rewards) in actions, not just words" and here Climate Outreach's Dave Powell writes about the different things people mean by 'fair' in this blog post.
The International Labour Organisation (a UN body focused on workers) has developed a lengthy set of principles for a just transition.
In Cumbria, where there are still plans for additional coal mining, Cumbria Actions for Sustainability (CAfS) has explored the potential for green jobs.

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This post was first published in March 2022’s Making the Path by Walking newsletter. Scroll right down to subscribe.