#09 Just Transitions (with Dr. Rita V. D'Oliveira Bouman)

How do we transition away from carbon-intensive industries while avoiding unemployment? How do we rebuild communities in a sustainable way after losing major job providers? How can marginalized groups get their opinion heard when their society must change?

Society faces huge changes in the energy transition. Technological solutions get most of the attention for reducing emissions and transitioning. However, research shows that these technology implementations have unforeseen consequences, like increasing inequality. To get everyone on board and working towards common goals, we need to make it fair. Just Transition explains how we can solve these issues. It's a framework that aims to ensure we take care of people affected by the transition towards a decarbonized society. This includes not only those with a voice, but also smaller groups without the resources to speak up.

This podcast episode was first published as a pilot episode in the spring of 2021. In this episode, Dr. Rita Vasconcellos Oliveira, a researcher in Fair and Sustainable Energy Transitions and the project manager of Energy Transitions Week 2022, gives us an introduction to Just Transition.

— The NTNU Energy Transition Podcast aims to function as a knowledge hub that empowers individuals and organizations in Europe and beyond to tackle climate change and move our global society toward carbon neutrality. New episodes every Thursday. The NTNU Energy Transition Initiative was established to deliver world-leading research on energy transition strategies, to achieve the Paris ambitions in an efficient and realistic way. Every spring we organize the NTNU Energy Conference in Trondheim, Norway. You can find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and on our webpage. Please reach out by mail to energytransition@ntnu.no.