Just transition

Why Just Transition?

As the world is discussing the phasing out of fossil fuels and is looking at ways to transition to cleaner, renewable, and more sustainable sources of energy, we need to ensure that this process is equitable, rapid, and just. 

We need to weave health into the Just Transition fabric, in a way that centers protecting and improving people’s health in a post-fossil fuel society, as health is the overlapping but missing link that connects Just Transition with an equitable world, with holistic health systems and accessible health care services at its core. 

Integrating public health into this framework can contribute to a democratized vision of a Just Transition that is tightly bound to community health, social equity, and planetary survival. To accomplish this, Just Transition needs to be examined from a service systems perspective – one that emphasizes health care and wellbeing. This will ascertain the interlinkages between human health and planetary health, social well-being, prosperity, justice, and equity.