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.
Since 1984, a mine has been discharging billions of gallons of water loaded with sulfuric acid and iron oxide into Sunday Creek in Millfield, Ohio, effectively killing the ecosystem along 13 miles of the waterway. But now, a major project is underway to clean up the discharge, restore the health of Sunday Creek and the watershed around it, and build a new industry by creating a product from a pollutant. Rural Action, a local community development nonprofit — and JTF grantee — is building a water treatment plant that can transform acid-mine drainage into raw material for paints and tints, all while creating local jobs, cleaning up the creek, and making enough money that it pays for itself.
In West Virginia, a company plans to build a plant that will produce a metal and alloy critical for clean energy, fuel cells and cleaner steel. In Texas, a third-generation wind entrepreneur plans to manufacture turbines suitable for remote, rural locations. And in Pennsylvania and Colorado, a window maker plans to retrofit aging factories to produce thin, insulated units that help make buildings more energy efficient. They’re all projects getting federal funding designed to help small- and medium-sized manufacturers bring clean-energy jobs to former coal communities.
A new analysis from the U.S. Department of the Treasury shows that funds from the Inflation Reduction Act are benefiting economically disadvantaged communities more than the rest of the country through clean energy investment in communities that have been underserved and are transitioning away from fossil fuel production.
Several hundred stakeholders recently attended the Just Transition Platform Conference in Brussels to share strategies and experiences on the just transition process in Europe. Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, said "[Coal] regions will be pivotal [in the green transition] – not only because we must ensure this transition is fair for all workers and communities, but also because carbon-intensive regions are home to the industries that deliver critical materials needed for the transition, and coal regions are well placed to become clean energy powerhouses, as they have the right knowledge, skills and infrastructure."
While solar investment is receiving unprecedented federal funding, it still faces cultural and social barriers in former coal communities. One key, as seen in Wise County, Virginia, is through locals leading the charge to revitalize the economy in their own hometowns. “I’m from the coalfields,” said Emma Kelly, outreach director for Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia.. “And you have to understand. Coal mining is not just a job. The coal industry is not just an employer.” Wise County native Matt McFadden’s solar company employer started an apprentice program for local high schoolers that pays $17/hour. “When a lot of parents and grandparents saw that there were benefits for their children,” he said, “thought processes changed.”
In places where smokestacks once belched soot and ash, developers and community organizers are envisioning housing, parks, greenways, offices and retail - and a way to bring back economic vitality and restore the environment in blighted areas. A legal maneuver known as environmental liability transfer is making it feasible for developers to assume responsibility for environmental cleanup and remediation and making sites safe and viable for new use.