Carbon retrieving: Missing opportunities for a just transition in the Coal Industry

Abstract

The climate crisis requires the shift towards the decarbonization of economic activities, challenging regions reliant on fossil resource extraction. While the just transition framework typically focuses on long-term measures to transition coal-dependent regions to new industries, it often overlooks the potential for revitalizing the coal industry itself. This perspective introduces new opportunities to just transitions in which the coal industry actively collaborates to decarbonization efforts. To demonstrate this potential, we propose two innovative conceptual arrangements that highlight the potential contribution of the coal sector to provide essential services in the decarbonization pathways, namely carbon dioxide removal and the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors. These proposals suggest that just transition can have synergies to climate action (SDG 13), rather than only trade-offs. We urge further research to embrace this paradigm shift in the coal's industry just transition debate.