Just transition and the arts

Posted: 16 April 2025

Author: Culture for Climate Scotland

Filed under: Article

Culture for Climate Scotland is leading a new project – ‘Sea Change’ – working with artists to develop a just transition for two coastal towns in Scotland. But what is a just transition? This article explores the term, looking at its meaning, origins and how it is used today. We discuss why people in the arts sector should care about the concept and how they can play a role in creating a just transition.

What is a just transition?

The term ‘just transition’ means a process to move to an environmentally sustainable society in a way that is fair for all. This refers to the process itself (the way policies are designed and enacted must be fair, transparent and participatory) and the outcomes (the policies themselves and their impact). It is related to but distinct from the term ‘climate justice’, which refers more broadly to how the causes of climate change are unfair and unequal, how climate change worsens existing inequalities, and how addressing climate change can create a more just world for all. A just transition is a way to help us achieve climate justice.

The International Labour Organisation defines a just transition as a process

‘towards an environmentally sustainable economy, which needs to be well managed and contribute to the goals of decent work for all, social inclusion and the eradication of poverty’.

Friends of the Earth Scotland describes just transition as

‘an opportunity to create a better society and protect the poorest from climate impacts. If the transition is led by people and communities, they can ensure it is truly fair and meets their needs’.

The concept of a just transition was originally developed by trade unions in the USA back in the 1970s to describe how workers need to be able to find new high-quality work as we transition away from the high-polluting industries in which they are employed currently. It has now taken on a broader meaning associated with ensuring principles of equity and fairness for planning all aspects of the move to a sustainable world.

The term just transition might be applied to a range of issues, including:

Ensuring that people currently employed in high-carbon industries can find alternative work that is equally secure and well paid.
Using the net-zero transition to address existing issues such as fuel poverty, through insulation schemes and alternative heating systems.
Making sure that climate change policies are instituted in a fair way that doesn’t discriminate or disproportionately affect vulnerable groups.
Ensuring that disadvantaged groups are not excluded from the process of designing the transition.

Increasingly, ‘just transition’ is a mainstream term. The Paris Agreement made at COP21 included recognition of (opens a PDF)

‘the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs’.

In 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, countries signed up to a set of just transition principles. In Scotland, the Just Transition Partnership (see link in ‘Further resources’ below) was established to bring together trade unions and environmental charities to campaign for principles of a just transition to be at the heart of climate action.

The principle of a just transition has now been adopted by the Scottish Government, which stated that it is

‘committed to ending our contribution to climate change in a way that is fair and leaves no one behind’.

The Scottish Government set up the Just Transition Commission in 2019 (see link in ‘Further resources’ below) as an independent source of advice on this issue. The government has been developing just transition plans for various sectors such as transport and farming, and for locations like the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster. Some local councils have also been developing their own just transition plans or strategies. Most sectoral and area-based just transition plans have not been developed yet. Although there is a lot of work still to be done, the upside is that there are a lot of opportunities to influence and ultimately improve the process.

Why should people working on climate change care about a just transition?

Effectively communicating the idea of a just transition is important for building public support for climate action. A true just transition can create opportunities to improve wellbeing and equality, co-benefits that show how climate action can be an opportunity to improve our society rather than a burden. The concept is useful for thinking about climate action not as a separate field but as interconnected with social issues like poverty and access to work. Just transition planning should provide a fair and structured way to work through how these issues are connected and find effective solutions.

The Just Transition Partnership states

‘Action to stop greenhouse gas emissions can create good jobs and improve everyone’s lives. But, done wrongly, it could instead entrench trends towards precarious work and economic inequality, while risking a backlash against climate action.’

Experts have warned that if climate policies are not sufficiently inclusive or wide ranging, there is a danger that certain groups will benefit more than others, in turn raising the risk of populism and political unrest. The previous transition away from coal provides a clear example of multi-generational harm that can be caused by an unjust energy transition, with ex-coal mining areas still tending to be poorer 40 years after pit closures. There is also a risk that if the term is misused, or if just transition plans fail to live up to principles of fairness and participation, it will become devalued and people will lose faith in the concept. We can already see this happening with criticism of the Scottish Government’s approach to just transition planning. In 2023, the Just Transition Commission stated:

‘Despite progress in applying a just transition approach to policy development and planning at the national level, the tangible benefits in people’s everyday lives are yet to be felt. […] Use of just transition as a “fix-all” term without specific policies and actions to actually realise it must be avoided from now on. […] Scotland’s just transition requires a major, long-term program of communication and engagement to build understanding and consent.’

Why is just transition relevant to the arts?

Effective just transition planning is heavily dependent on meaningful participation from the people it will affect. This can be hard to get right. It requires getting input from a representative spread of different perspectives, which can be difficult to achieve. It also means working with people experiencing multiple deprivation who might not have time or capacity to contribute to long-term planning. The process can feel extractive: obtaining information from people without offering tangible benefits in return. And if the results of consultation do not appear to meaningfully shape the strategies that result from them, it erodes trust in the process and reaffirms skepticism from communities that have been let down in the past.

Culture for Climate Scotland believes that place-based work with artists and cultural organisations can provide an effective way of getting broader and deeper participation that can give people a voice, improve policy and empower communities. Cultural venues offer accessible, impartial spaces to host discussion. Arts-based methods can be designed to get people’s input while offering something in return: creative activities that are fun, engaging, restorative or stimulating. They also help to reach a broader range of participants beyond the usual suspects. Socially engaged artists are skilled at bringing together conflicting perspectives, resolving conflicts, developing consensus and finding creative ways to present people’s ideas. All these skills are relevant to just transition planning.

For example, arts-led just transition projects might:

Improve understanding of what a just transition means and make it tangible through imagery, stories or testimonials.
Provide spaces for non-confrontational discussion and consensus building.
Provide a platform for voices of those affected by the transition to be heard and share their stories.
Create alternative routes to participate in consultation and policymaking through workshops or story gathering.
Use creative work to share community perspectives with policymakers and advocate for action.

At Culture for Climate Scotland, we’re leading a collaborative just transition project – Sea Change – until June 2027. We’re working with artists in two coastal towns to understand what a just transition should look like in those places, put ideas into action and influence local policy and planning. You can read more about Sea Change on the project page.