A Place-based, Just Transition framework can guide industrial decarbonisation with a social licence

Abstract

A growing policy focus in many economies is decarbonising energy-intensive industries such as steel, chemicals, and cement, responsible for a quarter of global CO₂ emissions. While policy discourses underscore the need for rapid, cost-effective industrial decarbonization, how to implement decarbonization in ways that are fair and just to workers and local communities and build a social licence to operate remains unclear. This perspective addresses a gap in guiding how governments and industries decarbonise by collaborating with affected communities and workers. We propose a Place-based, Just Transition framework that synthesises findings from four UK research projects and three under-connected research fields – Sense of Place, Just Transition, and Social Licence to Operate. The framework highlights seven themes: ongoing processes; place sensitivity; genuine community engagement; localised benefits and fairness; trust, credibility and legitimacy; multi-level governance; and trade-offs and tensions. Reflecting on our engagement with stakeholders in three UK industrial clusters, we identify four challenges impacting application of the framework: expectations, scope, resources, and leadership. We argue that negotiating these challenges and applying the framework can go beyond narrow technological and economic framings of industrial decarbonization and can guide place-sensitive and fair industrial decarbonisation with a social licence.