Among other events and conversations at COP28, the International Labour Organization (ILO) hosted a just transition pavilion with daily sessions and activities centered around supporting workers through a clean energy transition. You can read summaries, watch videos from the pavilion, and learn more.
On the upside, old coal plants often have rail and significant power infrastructure. On the downside, the sites are usually contaminated with coal ash, buried onsite for decades. With more of these buildings being shuttered throughout coal country, counties can apply for grants from local economic development agencies to do a feasibility study to discover how the buildings can be repurposed for a clean energy economy.
For jobless coal miners in Mingo County, West Virginia, a training program is restoring jobs and hope in Appalachian communities. Coalfield Development — a JTF grantee — is paying people to train for new jobs in construction, agriculture and solar installation. The effort so far has trained more than 2,500 people, created 800 jobs, and helped start 72 new businesses using $20 million in federal grants.
Military veteran Obbie Riley began working in a small Mississippi town in 2008 after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard for 22 years. His first order of business was to ensure all homes had access to high-speed internet, which the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis called “the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” A lack of access was blocking residents' chances to work remotely, find higher paying jobs, submit school work, and access educational or telehealth services.