Back | Programme Area: Social Dimensions of Sustainable Development
Cities in Transition – Local Struggles for a Just Transition and their Potential in Advancing Climate Justice
Date: 14 - 15 Jun 2019
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The workshop will discuss urban approaches and case studies of just transition, exploring the role of cities in implementing progressive and transformative just transition strategies and plans. Building on the theoretical framework and assessment produced in 2018 by the Just Transition Research Collaborative and published in the report Just Transition(s) to a Low-Carbon World, the objective of the workshop is to discuss examples and transition stories from several cities and to kick-start a debate on the potential of city-level just transition policies and frameworks to influence higher level policy change and climate justice. The discussions will inform further case study research and the production of a policy report in time for COP25.
Cities are both major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and forerunners of sustainability. They account for around two thirds of the global energy demand and 70% of carbon emissions on the one hand. On the other, they are often drivers of the renewable energy transition and champions of sustainability innovation. Faced with rapid urbanization and mounting environmental and social pressures, cities have come up with a range of initiatives and ambitious plans to tackle climate change and transition to sustainability. Cities are often also hosts of progressive movements and alliances in the struggle for sustainability and climate justice. So will cities drive the just transition to low-carbon development?
List of participants
- Aaron Eisenberg, RLS New York Office
- Alanah Torralba, RLS Philippines
- Ankit Kumar, TU Eindhoven
- Avril de Torres, CEED Philippines
- David Ciplet, University of Colorado
- Dunja Krause, UNRISD
- Gerald Aiken, University of Luxemburg
- Jessica Omukuti, University of Reading / Green Climate Fund
- Katja Voigt, RLS Berlin
- Maxensius Tri Sambodo, Indonesian Institute of Sciences
- Sanna Markkanen, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
- Shannon Johnson, UNRISD
- Shivani Chaudhry, Housing and Land Rights Network
- Till Bender, RLS Berlin
Via Skype:
- Dimitris Stevis, University of Colorado
- Edouard Morena, University of London Institute in Paris
- Vicente Yu, South Centre