The Just Transition is gaining momentum
The importance of a Just Transition is being recognised by governments worldwide, increasingly featuring in short and long-term climate plans. How are climate and social sciences tackling the issue?
The impacts of climate change on individuals, communities and regions vary, depending on how vulnerable the people or areas affected are, and their level of exposure. In addition, people’s ability to avoid or cope with these climate hazards depends on their financial resources, the extent of their social networks, whether or not they own a home, and other factors.
Achieving a climate-resilient society while “leaving no one behind” — as stated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — requires striving towards an equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of adaptation measures. This means taking into account existing inequalities to ensure the same opportunities and outcomes for all. The Just Transition goes beyond employment issues, it also involves protecting vulnerable groups, promoting economic diversification, and achieving harmonious societies.
Socioeconomic disparities
Climate change is already negatively affecting inequality and poverty. A paper published in Environmental Research Letters investigates the relationship between temperature and inequality, poverty and welfare in South Africa at the national and sub-national level and highlights — in addition to the need for climate change adaptation — the co-benefits of decarbonization in reducing socioeconomic disparities among affected communities.
CMCC researchers find that the relationship between temperature and inequality, and poverty is non-linear, with inequality lowest at moderate temperatures. However, once temperatures increase beyond a certain threshold (15–17°C), the inequality gap among different income groups widens, threatening the livelihood of the most vulnerable communities.
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