Global Governance of the Just Transition

24 October 2022, 5:00 pm–7:00 pm

What is Justice in the context of Green Transition(s) and who defines what is Just?Join us for the first Discussion Panel that takes a global approach to the idea of Justice in Green Transition(s) by looking at the roles of international organisations – such as IMF, World Bank, ILO, ITUC – and the narratives they shape around Justice.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to: All | UCL staff | UCL students | UCL alumni
Availability: Yes
Cost: Free
Organiser: UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

iippcomms@ucl.ac.uk

Watch the video here

Overview

What is Justice in the context of Green Transition(s) and who defines what is Just? There are various narratives of justice and there are multiple transitions that need to happen. Amid growing attention to the need to ensure just transitions to a more sustainable world, the role of international institutions is often neglected. What role can they play in mobilising finance, building capacity, supporting innovation and protecting rights?

Join us for the first Discussion Panel that takes a global approach to the idea of Justice in Green Transition(s) by looking at the roles of international organisations – such as IMF, World Bank, ILO, ITUC – and the narratives they shape around Justice. Originating from the movement of labour environmentalists in the 1970s-80s in the US, the concept of a ‘Just Transition’ has been receiving wider support, linking Justice with the challenges of the Green Transition and Climate Change but mostly adopted by labour-focused organisations such as the International Labor Organisation (ILO) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Is Justice mainly about jobs and displaced workers and what are other voices in defining Justice? Is it only about the Green Transition or intergenerational, procedural, economic, distributional and cultural Justice(s) combined? We will tackle some of these questions through the prism of research questions and policy perspectives while also asking how international perspectives interact with the policies at the national/local levels.

This Panel builds on the research work on global governance of the Just Transition – an interdisciplinary project supported by the British Academy (2021-2022).

Panel

Iva Peša: Assistant Professor in Contemporary History, University of Groningen
Peter Newell: Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex
Katie Gallogly-Swan: Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Dunja Krause: Research Officer, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

Chair

Dr Olga Mikheeva: Marie Curie Research Fellow, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Free events, will be running online and open to public, with Q&A. This Discussion Series is convened by Dr Olga Mikheeva, o.mikheeva@ucl.ac.uk

Contact

For more information about the IIPP Governing the Transition(s) Discussion Series and learn how to get involved, please contact IIPP Communications, iippcomms@ucl.ac.uk or Dr Olga Mikheeva, o.mikheeva@ucl.ac.uk.

About the Speakers

Iva Peša

Assistant Professor in Contemporary History at University of Groningen

Iva Peša is an Assistant Professor in Contemporary History at the University of Groningen. She leads a project, funded by the European Research Council, titled ‘AFREXTRACT: Environmental Histories of Resource Extraction in Africa.’ Through case studies of oil drilling in Nigeria, copper mining in Zambia and gold mining in South Africa, the project seeks to understand people’s lived experiences of environmental transformation. Recent publications include ‘A Planetary Anthropocene?’ and ‘Decarbonization, Democracy and Climate Justice.’ More about Iva Peša

Peter Newell

Professor of International Relations and co-founder and Research Director at University of Sussex and Rapid Transition Alliance

Peter Newell is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex and co-founder and research director of the Rapid Transition Alliance. His recent research focuses on the political economy of low carbon energy transitions, but he has undertaken research, advocacy and consultancy work on different aspects of climate change for over 25 years. He has worked at the universities of Sussex, Oxford, Warwick and East Anglia in the UK and FLACSO Argentina. He and sits on the board of directors of Greenpeace UK and has undertaken advisory work the governments of the UK, Sweden and Finland and for international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the Global Environment Facility and the Inter-American Development Bank. His single and co-authored books include Climate for Change; Governing Climate Change; Globalization and the Environment; Climate Capitalism; Transnational Climate Change Governance, Global Green Politics and Power Shift: The Global Political Economy of Energy Transitions. More about Peter Newell

Katie Gallogly-Swan

Economic Affairs Officer at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Katie Gallogly-Swan is an Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) focused on climate and development. Prior to joining the team, Katie worked at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center looking at how trade, development finance and climate policy can enable a global just transition. She has also worked at Oxfam and ActionAid on economic, climate and gender policy, during which she was on the steering group of the global Gender and Trade Coalition. She is currently a Commissioner on the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission and is Convenor of the Scottish Women's Budget Group. Katie holds a BA in Social Anthropology from Harvard University and a Master's in Development Studies from the SOAS University of London. More about Katie Gallogly-Swan

Dunja Krause

Research Officer at United Nations Research Institute for Social Development

Dunja is a Research Officer at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), where she leads the Environmental and Climate Justice Programme that focuses on just transitions and transformative adaptation and resilience. Dunja is also a co-editor of the volume ‘Just Transitions: Social Justice in the Shift Towards a Low-Carbon World’ published by Pluto Press (2019).

Dr Olga Mikheeva

Marie Curie Research Fellow at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)

Olga is a Marie Curie Research Fellow at UCL IIPP working on development banks and financial governance of innovation and development, including financing policies to support the green transition. One of her recent publications surveys some of historical roles played by Central Banks and Finance Ministries: Governing finance to support the net-zero transition: lessons from successful industrialisation (with J. Ryan-Collins). More about Dr Olga Mikheeva