This book provides a comprehensive assessment of how national and international efforts to achieve carbon neutrality have been embraced as necessary to meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement as well as the needs of the planet. The authors explore the increasing tensions between aspirations and entrenched practices as methods to implement carbon neutrality are devised, particularly at the national and sub-national levels. This is perhaps best typified by efforts to shift from “dirty” energy production, such as coal, to greener alternatives, which are often supported in laws and rules but opposed by society. To bridge this void, the concept of just transitions has increasingly come to the forefront of international and national focus yet is often poorly understood. This book examines the ways in which just transitions have been proposed as a legal and regulatory bridge to address issues that result in societal resistance to implementation. It uses past and existing practice studies of just transitions before providing an analysis of how just transitions can be used to not only to assist in the shift to carbon neutrality but also in new shifts such as those caused by the Covid-19 pandemic impacts on economy, environment and society, and to address future global challenges.
Author(s): Alexandra R. Harrington
Series: Palgrave Studies in Environmental Transformation, Transition and Accountability
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 242
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
2 Book Summary
References
2 Legal and Regulatory Background
1 Introduction
2 Origins of Just Transitions in Law and Regulation
3 Supranational and National Incorporation and Development Generally
3.1 European Union
3.2 Australia
3.3 Belgium
3.4 Canada
3.5 Czech Republic
3.6 France
3.7 Germany
3.8 Hungary
3.9 Ireland
3.10 Poland
3.11 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
3.11.1 Scotland
3.11.2 Wales
3.11.3 Northern Ireland
3.12 United States of America
4 Conclusions
References
3 Current and Future Climate-Related Transitions
1 Introduction
2 Renewable Energy Sector Transitions
3 Agriculture, Land Use and Forestry Sector Transitions
4 Finance and Economics Sector Transitions
5 Industrial Sector Transitions
6 Blue Economy Transitions
7 International Reporting Tools for Transition Insights
7.1 NDCs as Tools of Transition Insights
7.2 VNRs as Tools of Transition Insights
8 Conclusions
References
4 Pandemic Transitions
1 Introduction
2 COVID-19 Recovery Transitions Generally
3 Healthcare Sector Transitions
4 Finance and Economic Sector Transitions
5 Agriculture and Food Sector Transitions
6 Tourism Sector Transitions
7 Governance Transitions
8 Conclusion
References
5 Transitional Future
1 Introduction
2 The Journey to the Present
3 Future of Just Transitions
3.1 Future Covid-19 Pandemic and Post-pandemic Transitions
3.2 Human Rights Transitions
3.3 Climate Justice and Litigation Transitions
3.4 Future Generations and Transitions
3.5 Technology Transitions
4 Conclusions
References
Index
