Guests Noah Kaufman and Emily Grubert dive into the challenges faced by fossil fuel-dependent communities in the shift to renewable energy. Kaufman shares insights from his experience in climate policy, highlighting economic resilience strategies. Grubert discusses the critical need for planning and support as these communities transition, drawing on historical lessons. Both emphasize listening to local voices and building coalitions to navigate this complex change efficiently, ensuring a sustainable energy future for all.
Economic strategies are vital for fossil fuel-dependent communities to thrive amidst the clean energy transition and sustain essential services.
Historical industrial transitions highlight the necessity for proactive planning and tailored support to avoid adverse effects on vulnerable communities.
Deep dives
Economic Strategies for Fossil Fuel Communities
Viable economic strategies are crucial for communities in the United States dependent on fossil fuels, as their public revenues often support essential local services such as schools. Historical evidence from past industrial collapses, such as the steel and textile industries, highlights the need for thorough planning to avoid detrimental fallout when key industries decline. Policymakers largely base decisions in remote locations like boardrooms, disconnected from the communities they affect, leading to a lack of tailored support for these areas. To navigate the clean energy transition successfully, it is essential to support and diversify the economic frameworks of fossil fuel-dependent communities, ensuring their survival and continued growth.
Lessons from Historical Transitions
Past industrial transitions offer valuable insights for today’s energy transition, notably the importance of planning and early intervention to avert crises. Observations from historical events, such as the collapse of the steel industry, reveal that unpreparedness can exacerbate economic distress in affected communities. Experts underline that allowing communities to fend for themselves during transitions usually leads to inequitable outcomes, emphasizing the need for organized support and collaboration. The current energy transition, more significant than previous shifts, necessitates attention to the lessons learned from past failures, placing emphasis on proactive rather than reactive measures.
Research Initiatives for Economic Diversification
The Resilient Energy Economies Initiative funds various research projects designed to assist fossil fuel-dependent communities in adapting to future uncertainties. These projects range from evaluating policies aimed at supporting workers to developing comprehensive economic development strategies tailored for different regions. For instance, one project focuses on the ramifications of a coal plant closure in Washington state, while another analyzes the job losses coal workers have faced in recent years. By generating a wider understanding of successful and unsuccessful approaches, these initiatives seek to provide crucial insights to help communities thrive despite impending changes.
Government Support and Future Outlook
Federal support for fossil fuel-dependent communities has increased in recent years, particularly under the Biden administration, although this assistance has often lacked the necessary focus and funding. Existing programs aimed to match communities with resources rather than providing direct financial aid, making it challenging to measure overall impact effectively. Despite concerns over political shifts potentially diminishing this support, there remains optimism about ongoing opportunities for economic diversification and resilience. By building upon historical successes and prioritizing collaboration, there is potential for meaningful progress as the energy transition unfolds.
In energy policy circles, the word “resilience” often refers to future-proof systems or infrastructure designed for the transition away from fossil fuels. But resilience means something different to the communities that have been built on those conventional energy sources.
Without a policy strategy, communities whose economies are dependent on fossil fuels aren’t well positioned to thrive in – or perhaps even survive – a clean energy transition.
So how can economic resilience improve livelihoods in fossil fuel dependent communities? Are the near-term risks and economic impacts these communities face underappreciated? And what does this all mean in today’s political environment?
This week host Bill Loveless talks to Emily Grubert and Noah Kaufman, two scholars at the Resilient Energy Economies initiative, a collaboration between the Bezos Earth Fund, Resources for the Future, and the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA.
Emily is a civil engineer and environmental sociologist. She is an associate professor of sustainable energy policy in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. She also worked in the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the Department of Energy under the Biden administration.
Noah is an economist who has worked on energy and climate change policy. He is a research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. He also served as a senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President Biden and as the deputy associate director of energy and climate change at the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Obama.
Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Erin Hardick, Mary Catherine O’Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive producer.
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