24. March 2022CINTRAN Newsletter #4
Welcome to issue #4 of the CINTRAN coal transition newsletter. In this issue, we are happy to announce the start of the CINTRAN academy events series, which begins with an exceptional kick-off event on effects of Russia's war in Ukraine on the Just Transition. We also present a chapter of the new book 'Political Economy of Coal', examining at the German coal commission process. Views onto recent research round off the issue, completed by the presentation of the Just Transition Toolbox, a tool for practitioners in coal regions full of practical learnings and concepts for diversifying local and supporting local workers and communities. Enjoy the read!
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Coal+ Regions in transition event series has launched!
The CINTRAN project is excited to launch its Coal+ Regions in Transition event series in order to share with each other how to make sure that the energy transition does not just happen, but happens justly! The series consists of 10 online events running between April 2022 and 2024. The series will explore not just practical solutions, but also transparently discuss how to learn from any mis-steps in the process. The purpose is to share replicable hands-on experience, the good and the bad, to inspire your own just transition. Read more.
Source: MG 7111 by Max Bashyrov on Flickr, CC BY 2.0
What do carbon-intensive regions need to build up their capacities for a just transition?
The just transition of coal regions requires rapid action and support, as well as enhanced knowledge for strategic planning. As a first step towards understanding the patterns and dynamics of decarbonising carbon-intensive regions in Europe, CINTRAN has investigated the needs and concerns of different actors involved in the process.
Clustered interviewee responses (clipping); Source: CINTRAN
This assessment is based on interviews that the CINTRAN team conducted with diverse practitioners, from multiple sectors in thirteen European coal regions, to identify knowledge gaps that should be overcome to stimulate such transitions. Read more in our blog!
The Political Economy of Coal and the influence of the Ukraine Invasion on Germany’s Energy Policy
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and its ripple effects on global energy supply have led many observers and policy makers to question previous phase-out decisions for both nuclear power and coal in Germany. In a recent book chapter, CINTRAN consortium members Lukas Hermwille & Dagmar Kiyar of Wuppertal Institute analyzed the political economy of coal during the political struggle for coal phase-out. While some of the adopted policies may be obsolete by now, the insights into the political economy are still relevant and allow us to draw lessons for the energy policy response to the war in Ukraine. Read the new blog post!
There is no just transition without gender justice
The coal transitions discourse is usually focused on the mostly male miners employed in the coal industry. In two recent publications conducted as part of the CINTRAN project, the authors look at those who remain mostly invisible in this discourse – women. They examine how women have been affected by past coal phase-out processes and how they have become politically active. Furthermore, they derive policy recommendations for a gender-equitable structural change. Read more.
Picture: Miners Strike: 30 years on by National Lottery Heritage Fund on Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Latest coal transitions research
The CINTRAN project’s research yielded two recent open access papers that contribute to the understanding of the challenges of structural change:
Lola Nacke, Aleh Cherp, and Jessica Jewell (2022) develop a diagnostic framework for analyzing just transition policies in resource dependent regions. The diagnostic tool developed by the authors allows to both identify different phases of the transition process and to develop effective policy sequences for phasing out fossil fuels. The tool and policies at each of the phases identified are illustrated with case studies of South Africa, the US, and the Netherlands. – Download the paper here.
Laur Kanger and Benjamin Sovacool (2022) propose a multi-scalar and multi-horizon tool for mapping energy injustice. They connect injustices to transition dynamics and propose three basic types of injustice: regime optimization, regime destabilization and niche acceleration injustices. This framework is applied to analyse the ongoing energy transition in Estonia. – Get the full paper here.
A Just Transition Toolbox for coal regions for 2022 (and beyond)
Building on the fundamental belief that it will always be better to have a managed transition than an unmanaged structural change process, the Just Transition Toolbox aims to provide practical answers to the question of how to steer and support the shift away from coal on a regional level. It provides an overview of the most important practical learnings and concepts that help to kick off measures to diversify the local economies while at the same time supporting the local workers and communities. The publication is designed explicitly for practitioners in coal regions – policymakers in regional administrations, people working in or for ministries and other stakeholders who are or would like to be involved in a transition process. Find the toolbox here.
The CINTRAN project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 884539. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of CINEA or other EU agencies or bodies.