Fair energy transition: 3 dimensions to address the challenges of decarbonisation at the societal level

This is a machine translation of the original release, issued in Spanish

PRESS RELEASE from Serc Chile

September 30, 2024

Santiago, September 30.- What is a fair energy transition? The concept of a fair transition has its origins in the union movement as an effort to protect the population and jobs that depended on coal-intensive industries from the costs of decarbonization processes and refers to the labor impacts of decarbonization processes. However, over the years, the concept has extended to the consideration of principles of justice and equity in ongoing energy transitions.

In this way, the just transition seeks to emphasize the importance of advancing the decarbonization goals established at a global level, such as the Paris Agreement or the 2030 Agenda, but without placing a cost on the most vulnerable population. According to Tomás Ariztía, sociologist and researcher at SERC Chile, the principle of the just transition seeks to account for and address the inequalities that arise as a result of the ongoing energy transitions, along with balancing the social and environmental impacts.

The researcher explained that "just transition addresses principles of justice in the decarbonization of economies," considering different dimensions: " A distributive one , which focuses on the equitable distribution of the costs and benefits associated with the energy transition; a procedural one , which examines how these inequalities are managed within the framework of energy transitions; and a recognition one, which respects different ways of understanding and conceiving the environmental change associated with the transition."

“Originally, this idea emerged from trade union movements that faced the consequences of decarbonisation, but today it is used to talk about the fair management of the impacts of the energy transition,” he says.

A key aspect is to identify the costs and inequalities associated with the development of new technologies or the closure of fossil technologies, and then establish how to address them. “These costs and benefits are generally developed in a deterritorialized manner, for example: Generally, the benefits reach a place other than where the costs are generated.” This occurs especially in territories where renewable energy infrastructure is imposed without an adequate distribution of benefits among the affected communities, with a focus on generating benefits for actors in other parts of the planet.

For this transition to be fair, it is essential that public policies reconcile the effectiveness of decarbonisation with principles of distributive, procedural and recognition justice. Ariztía highlights that "one objective to consider within the framework of a fair transition is to identify and adequately manage the different inequalities that arise associated with the installation of renewable energies."

Research on social and environmental impact

In Chile, SERC studies the transformation processes associated with the energy transition from this perspective. Among the topics under research is the social and environmental impact of the development of new fuels such as green hydrogen and large solar projects. "We are interested in understanding how these developments affect communities and the environment, what frictions and tensions they develop and how they can be addressed from a perspective of fair transition," explains the researcher.

The SERC Chile researcher mentions that one of the investigations being carried out is to analyze and study “the development of new fuels such as H2Verde or the development of large-scale solar generation projects” from the perspective of their impacts, governance and implications in terms of transitions towards sustainability.

This approach seeks to ensure that the energy transition not only benefits industrialized sectors or those with greater purchasing power, but also includes communities that have historically been excluded from the benefits of energy development, while ensuring that the costs associated with the transition are not paid by less favored sectors or territories.

About SERC Chile:

Solar Energy Research Center (SERC) Chile is a scientific research center of excellence with four strategic focuses, which are related to the current development of solar energy and the productive characteristics of the country. The center, which is funded by ANID, includes seven research areas: Solar water treatment; Energy systems; Materials science and evaluation of solar resources; Energy storage; Power electronics and energy conversion; Sustainable development; Control of industrial systems and processes.

These lines of research are made up of more than 80 researchers from the seven public and private institutions that work with SERC Chile: the University of Antofagasta (UA), the Federico Santa María Technical University (UTFSM), the University of Chile (UCH), the Adolfo Ibáñez University (UAI ), the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC), the University of Concepción (UDEC) and Fraunhofer Chile.