Just transition is central to cities. Research is making it increasingly evident that transitions towards climate neutrality will have significant (re)distributive effects that are geographically, sectorally and socially uneven. Negative externalities will not only hit carbon-intensive areas, such as mining regions, but will occur within all cities and towns. From an employment perspective, this means disproportionate job-losses for low-paid, so-called “blue-collar” workers – in all likelihood widening existing income inequalities. With 78% of Europe’s population living in urban areas, the just transition must therefore create new ideas and opportunities for cities to restructure their labour markets.
How are cities to respond to this? The Urban Innovative Actions initiative (UIA), which is an ICLEI Europe partner, has released an insightful and timely new publication on this very question. The report, titled Skills for a green future, contributes to ongoing discussions regarding how to ensure that transitions are just for all, with a focus on employment.
The UIA report focuses on three primary approaches: (i) forecasting; (ii) facilitating growth of green jobs, and (iii) re-skilling. Overall, it finds that while many cities are taking an innovative and dynamic approach to the first two dimensions, there is a need to engage significantly more with the issue of reskilling of existing (often older) workers.
The report points to the need for cities to play a facilitation and collaborative role in reskilling, bringing together various stakeholders (public authorities, agencies, universities, business sector, residents) to create the conditions for reskilling. Innovative and playful spaces and activities need to be facilitated, which provide new opportunities not only for reskilling, but also for stakeholders to re-evaluate the kinds of jobs that can be considered green.
The report ends with a roadmap featuring a list of steps cities can take to implement the report’s recommendations. The roadmap makes clear that there is a lack of tangible networking and funding opportunities for cities. This is where ICLEI comes in.
ICLEI is currently engaged in an analysis of schemes and platforms that can facilitate local government action in connecting, sharing and implementing best practice solutions. Early results show a need to put in place more tangible and inclusive frameworks that can shift resources to the lower levels of government directly engaged in transition processes. The good news is that new initiatives are coming soon that may fill this niche. Furthermore, ICLEI and its projects are constantly working to provide local governments and municipalities with learning and sharing platforms, and enhancing capacity-building activities.
The UIA report complements a forthcoming update to ICLEI’s own Just Transition position paper, which seeks to consider wider questions for cities. For instance: how they might lobby for greater political inclusion and financial autonomy through involvement in European-level mechanisms like the Territorial Just Transition Plan process; proposed post-growth targets and indicators for cities; and the overall need for a more fundamentally critical approach to the ways in which our current economic system undermines both social and environmental sustainability.
Matthew Bach, Coordinator, Just Transition, ICLEI Europe sums up the lessons from UIA and ICLEI: “The transition to low-carbon, biodiverse and circular cities will only be successful if local governments receive support with navigating this transition in a just way. The insights from the UIA report and ICLEI’s own upcoming paper are a great starting point for cities looking to tackle their just transition challenges.”
ICLEI’s upcoming policy paper update is partially borne out of insights from the recently completed UrbanA project on sustainable and just cities. To learn more, explore UrbanA’s resources for just cities: