Category: Just Transitions

Shifts in the Energy Workforce 9/6/2022

Shifts in the Energy Workforce

Payne Institute Critical Minerals Research Associate Caitlin McKennie, Director Morgan Bazilian, and Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler write about how the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act heralds an unprecedented era of climate investment for the U.S. Such investment brings with it the promise of new jobs across the clean energy landscape. For rural communities that have historically depended on fossil fuel development or use, however, included several in Colorado, the outlook is at least more complicated.   September 6, 2022.

F1000 Research Energy Gateway 12/15/2021

F1000 Research Energy Gateway

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian is proud to serve as a advisor for the F1000Research Energy Gateway.  The Energy gateway aims to provide stakeholders across academia, industry and policy with a space to disseminate work related to all areas of energy research. By providing fast, open publication alongside access to underlying data the gateway looks to facilitate the rapid and transparent sharing of energy research. This research includes a broad range of topics and interdisciplinary areas such as renewable energy, energy storage materials, energy efficiency and conservation, and energy justice, economics and policy, to name just a few.  December 15, 2021. 

A Geothermal Transition 11/15/2021

A Geothermal Transition

Payne Institute Communications Associate Elsa Barron and Director Morgan D. Bazilian write about how the global energy sector is changing rapidly, and in myriad ways. Geothermal energy is poised to play an important role going forward. While the technology has been in place for many decades, new innovations are opening up possibilities for the expansion of geothermal energy production into areas beyond traditional geothermal hotspots (e.g., volcanoes). Geothermal also has an important benefit among renewable energy technologies: it has considerable overlap of required data and skill sets with the oil and gas industry¬—this has big implications for ensuring so called just transitions.  November 15, 2021.  

Solar-powered steel mill blazes trail for green energy transition 10/11/2021

Solar-powered steel mill blazes trail for green energy transition

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributes to this article about how a plant threatened with closure in a Colorado town is hiring again after switching to renewables.  For its developers the project is a shining example of the energy transition.  October 11, 2021.

REFRAMING CLIMATE JUSTICE FOR DEVELOPMENT: SIX PRINCIPLES FOR SUPPORTING INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE ENERGY TRANSITIONS IN LOW-EMITTING ENERGY-POOR AFRICAN COUNTRIES 9/28/2021

REFRAMING CLIMATE JUSTICE FOR DEVELOPMENT: SIX PRINCIPLES FOR SUPPORTING INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE ENERGY TRANSITIONS IN LOW-EMITTING ENERGY-POOR AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Payne Advisory Board Member Mimi Alemayehou, Katie Auth, Murefu Barasa, Director Morgan Bazilian, Fellow Brad Handler, Uzo Iweala, Fellow Todd Moss, Rose Mutiso, and Zainab Usman write answer the question why do we need to reframe climate justice for development?  They propose six basic principles to help development funders support inclusive and equitable energy transitions in the poorest countries.  September 28, 2021.

Expanding the scope of just transitions: Towards localized solutions and community-level dynamics 8/14/2021

Expanding the scope of just transitions: Towards localized solutions and community-level dynamics

Payne Institute Director Morgan D. Bazilian, Sanya Carley, David Konisky, Fellow Hisham Zerriffi, Sandeep Pai, and Fellow Brad Handler write about the academic interpretation of the concept of just transitions has evolved considerably over the last two decades. What was generally addressed in academic research in a technocratic way, with a primary focus on job replacement and the costs thereof, has given way to broader societal thinking around the need to address injustice in legacy energy systems.  We argue that further tools based in inter-disciplinary science, social science, and humanities approaches need to be adopted to evaluate communities’ experiences with transitions and to better design and implement policy and regulation.  August 14, 2021.

GOVERNMENT AGENCY PERSPECTIVE – THE LATROBE VALLEY AUTHORITY IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: Scope, Authority, Organization and Key Operating Principles part 1 5/28/2021

GOVERNMENT AGENCY PERSPECTIVE, PART 1 – THE LATROBE VALLEY AUTHORITY IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: Scope, Authority, Organization and Key Operating Principles

Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler on the Just Transitions Podcast discussing the scope, authority, organization, and key operating principles of the Latrobe Valley Authority (LVA) with Karen Cain, Chief Executive Officer at LVA, Victoria, Australia.  May 28, 2021.
Just Transitions – Economic Development Organization Perspective

The Latrobe Valley Authority in Victoria, Australia: Growing Employment Demand/Supply and Smart Specialization (part 2) 5/28/2021

Government Agency Perspective, Part 2 – The Latrobe Valley Authority in Victoria, Australia: Growing Employment Demand/Supply and Smart Specialization

Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler on the Just Transitions Podcast discussing the key services of the Latrobe Valley Authority (LVA) and growing growing employment demand/supply and smart specialization opportunities in the region with Karen Cain, Chief Executive Officer at LVA, Victoria, Australia.  May 28, 2021.
Just Transitions – Economic Development Organization Perspective

Communities Perspective, Alberta, Canada 5/28/2021

Communities Perspective, Alberta, Canada

Payne Institute Fellow Brad Handler on the Just Transitions Podcast discussing the communities perspective on just transitions in Alberta, Canada with Laura Swain, Chief Administrative Officer, Parkland County, Canada, Chris Warwick, Mayor, Hanna, Canada, George Glazier, Chairman, Battle River Economic Opportunities Committee (BREOC), Don Kroetch, Reeve, Flagstaff County, Canada, and Joel Maweni, Executive Director, Battle River Economic Opportunities Committee (BREOC).  May 28, 2021.
Just Transitions – Communities Perspective, Alberta, Canada

THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF PUMPED STORAGE HYDRO IN COLORADO’S ENERGY TRANSITION 6/26/2020

THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF PUMPED STORAGE HYDRO IN COLORADO’S ENERGY TRANSITION

Payne Student Scholar Gabe Stephens investigates how the energy transition has created a conflicting set of circumstances for Colorado and its communities. The state’s renewable energy industry has experienced rapid advancements, while the incumbent coal industry has endured a steady decline. Communities that have long relied on coal for their economic well-being are faced with an increasingly difficult outlook. Few areas in the state are experiencing this more than Moffat and Routt Counties, who account for the majority of the state’s remaining coal industry. The State government has pledged to support these communities through a ‘Just Transition’ initiative designed to offset the economic impacts associated with the industry’s decline. June 26, 2020.