Just Transitions and the Future of Law and Regulation

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of how national and international efforts to achieve carbon neutrality have been embraced as necessary to meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement as well as the needs of the planet. The authors explore the increasing tensions between aspirations and entrenched practices as methods to implement carbon neutrality are devised, particularly at the national and sub-national levels. This is perhaps best typified by efforts to shift from “dirty” energy production, such as coal, to greener alternatives, which are often supported in laws and rules but opposed by society. To bridge this void, the concept of just transitions has increasingly come to the forefront of international and national focus yet is often poorly understood. This book examines the ways in which just transitions have been proposed as a legal and regulatory bridge to address issues that result in societal resistance to implementation. It uses past and existing practice studies of just transitions before providing an analysis of how just transitions can be used to not only to assist in the shift to carbon neutrality but also in new shifts such as those caused by the Covid-19 pandemic impacts on economy, environment and society, and to address future global challenges.