23. March 2022What do Carbon-Intensive Regions Need to Build up their Capacities for a Just Transition?
The just transition of coal+ regions (those mining or using coal, peat and oil shale) remains a very relevant subject across Europe, requiring 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.
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. Though there are some nuanced differences between stakeholder groups and countries, socio-economic aspects to the just transition (e.g. re-skilling workers and diversifying economic activities) are generally high on regional stakeholders’ agendas. Even so, they are also quite keen to understand better governance issues (e.g. partnerships and stakeholder engagement) and infrastructural solutions (e.g. renewables and efficiency).
Clustered interviewee responses (clipping); Source: CINTRAN
CINTRAN sees it as indispensable that key regional actors are properly enabled to contribute to a successful just transition. Therefore, the ultimate aim of this needs assessment has been to use such first-hand impressions on knowledge gaps to inform the CINTRAN team as to how it can contribute to building up stakeholders’ capacities to drive their own regional transformations. The findings of this needs assessment will serve as the basis for CINTRAN’s own upcoming capacity-building programme.
If you would like to know more about this assessment and get a deeper understanding of its results and methodology, please check out the full report here, or for a shorter overview focused more on the primary results, the abridged version here.
Interested to join CINTRAN’s capacity-building programme? Register here to join, as it’s launching the first online session on 6 April, focused on effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the Just Transition.
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.