Governance of the Just Urban Transition

In recent years it has become clear that environmental resource limits (at both local and global scales) and planetary boundaries, such as climate change, pose significant threats to the ability of the Earth to sustain human society (Rockström et al., 2009; Steffen et al., 2015, 2018). Planetary boundaries is the concept used to describe the various biophysical thresholds within the Earth system that, if breached, could result in non-linear change with catastrophic consequences (Rockström et al., 2009). In response to these threats, global attention has focused on shifting human behaviour to improve resource efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, minimise harmful waste and protect critical ecosystems (Allen et al., 2018).

Concurrently, inequality and poverty are critical focal points in global commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals (UN-Habitat, 2016). It is urgent and important that these two agendas are pursued in tandem, so as to avoid trade-offs. Consequently, it is imperative that shifts towards low-carbon economies, climate resilience and reduced resource consumption, prioritise the needs and aspirations of low-income communities in ways that directly tackle global and domestic inequalities. As the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development states, the sustainability transition must leave no one behind. This has become known as the just sustainability transition (or merely the ‘just transition’).

The just transition sets out to fundamentally shift the way society functions: to raise the quality of life of all citizens, reduce poverty and inequality, build a resilient economy and an inclusive society, while adapting to environmental change and mitigating climate and negative environmental impacts (Presidential Climate Commission, 2022). The just transition is built on the premise that environmental sustainability and social justice have interconnected drivers, processes and outcomes (Leach et al., 2018; Roy et al., 2018; Pasgaard & Dawson, 2019; Westman & Castán Broto, 2021; Rockström et al., in press). Some scholars argue that it is not possible to address social or environmental issues in isolation – in other words in order to achieve social justice, environmental concerns must be addressed and vice versa (Agyeman, Bullard & Evans, 2002). However, there is a real possibility that without concerted effort towards ensuring justice, attempts to live within planetary boundaries will likely exacerbate existing injustice and inequality (Gupta et al., 2023).