ICLEI Europe is committed to driving locally-anchored just transitions. Last month, ICLEI Europe supported a Strategic Conversation on this topic, bringing together key actors working to integrate sustainability and justice in cities, including representatives from ICLEI Members Malmö (Sweden), Turku (Finland), Cascais (Portugal), Antwerp (Belgium).
Stakeholders came together to share knowledge, align visions, link strategies and strengthen ties. Four main messages emerged from the discussions, which focused on how EU institutions can better support sustainable and just cities:
- Working together makes us stronger (and smarter)
- Transformative change requires systemic approaches
- From ‘just talk’ to just transition
- Just transition work requires resources
1. Working together makes us stronger (and smarter)
There is both a need and willingness for organisations and actors across sectors to work together. Sharing knowledge, supporting each other’s work, and advocating for a shared vision are important to strengthen the work and message. Due to imbalances in lobbying power, civil society organisations and others advocating for a just and sustainable future must join efforts to amplify their collective voice.
While the topic is complex, and perceived at times as overwhelming, a large body of existing expertise is available to guide policy makers – both among and beyond those who took part in the Strategic Conversation. Working together makes this complexity more manageable for organisations and individuals, and supports the development of a systemic approach to sustainable just cities. Network actors and platforms such as the European Alliance for a Just Transition are playing a key role in facilitating such collaboration.
Policies and actions for sustainable and just cities should also be built on, and with, local expertise and experience. Furthermore, cities are diverse in context, leading to a need to work together with locals across contexts.
2. Transformative change requires systemic approaches
If sustainability policies and actions ignore or underestimate systemic inequities in distribution, decision-making power, and recognition of groups, these actions will not only be ineffective but also risk deepening existing injustices.
A systemic approach is needed to overcome disconnections between sustainability and justice in policies. Policy frameworks and regulations (e.g., the Just Transition Mechanism in the European Green Deal, the New Leipzig Charter, the SDGs) are important enablers for sustainable and just cities. However, policies can also be barriers for systematic change if too narrow; for example, better integration is needed between the European Green Deal and the European Pillar of Social Rights. Taking a systemic approach would put notions of just transition and social equity at the core of EU sustainability policies, rather than being positioned as an add-on.
Working in silos, relying on projects, mismatches between long-term goals and short-term actions, and relying on simple solutions for complex challenges all hinder transformative change. Both vertical (EU, regional, local) and horizontal (between fields) collaboration and policy integration needs to be coordinated. Introducing systems-thinking in policy processes can help to connect the dots.
3. From ‘just talk’ to just transition
Current uncertainties, such as the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 pandemic, have had significant impacts both on justice and resource use. This has highlighted the urgency of, and interlinkages between, environmental sustainability and social justice. An unprecedented window has opened to move from talk to concrete actions.
EU policies are often detached from cities’ needs and realities. Those in the Strategic Conversation called for more tangible EU policies for a just transition and connecting these policies to practical implementation.
While cities are important in just and sustainable policies, they lack power in the policy processes. Multi-level governance approaches are thus crucial.
4. Just Transition work requires resources
Actors working for a sustainable and just future need more financial, informational, and human resources. There is a lack of funding for the work taking place at the intersections of sustainability and justice, which often relies on voluntary labour. In cases where funding is available, it is typically low budget and short-term, and isn’t made accessible to actors in the field. In particular, the EU’s research and innovation funding could play a stronger role.
These four highlights from the Strategic Conversation have the potential to be highly impactful in this field, ensuring a just future for all.
The discussion was led by the UrbanA project (which ICLEI Europe coordinates), alongside a number of engaged members of the European Alliance for a Just Transition, as well as ICLEI Members and other European organisations.
To learn more, explore UrbanA’s resources for just cities: