Just Transition
Dr. Anne Monier
The just transition constitutes a major social issue and a challenge for foundations and the sector. How to design and implement a “just transition philanthropy”?
The 6th IPCC report [1], published in March 2023, highlights the devastating effects of climate change for the planet and the humans who live on it. It also emphasizes the anthropic nature of these disturbances: it is our societies, and their way of functioning, which produced them and participated in causing this damage. They must evolve to help build a more resilient society to tackle the climate crisis. According to the IPCC, it is not just a matter of thinking about the well-being of the earth (“planetary health”) but it is also a matter of human well-being (“human well-being”) by taking into account climate justice, social justice, inclusion and a just transition. The implementation of this just transition poses numerous challenges since low-income populations suffer what can be called “global ecological injustice” [2], which relates to several dimensions. Indeed, populations with low income:
- are the most likely to be impacted by climate change and the loss of biodiversity and have fewer resources to deal with a disruption to which they have contributed less than other social groups;
- are more exposed to the social risks of the transition itself, due to the structure of their budget, which emits more carbon per euro spent, which leads the transition to be socially regressive if not included in a social involving contract.
Philanthropy can have an impact on each of these dimensions (exhibition, broadcast, design and implementation of the transition, democratic participation). Considering its role as an actor in the general interest, it is appropriate to ask what role philanthropy can play in the just transition [3].
How to move from a conception of the environment as a cause to support (climate or environmental philanthropy) to a perspective of a just transition? Research, advocacy, aggregation of disseminated associative actions, interaction with public coordination bodies, education and awareness, divesting, impact investing, the range of actions is very broad. The challenge is nothing less than guiding society towards a joint and systemic consideration of planetary limits and fundamental human needs, while structuring a democratic, participatory and intersectional deliberation on the management of these resources and on how to meet these needs. Beyond the social issue, the transition constitutes a challenge for the philanthropic sector through the implementation of what the researcher Edouard Morena calls a “just transition philanthropy”[4], which not only contributes to transforming society but also changes its own practices.
Building on these observations and analyses — on the central importance of the just transition for the future of our societies and on the key role of philanthropy in both its conception and implementation — the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Geneva is developing a new European-scale research axis on this topic, articulating democracy, philanthropy, and the just transition.
Seeking to adopt a systemic perspective and grounded in the contribution of the social sciences, the project will aim to explore the following questions:
- How can foundations address environmental challenges and integrate the principles of a just transition into their practices and strategies — through both their investments and their project funding?
- How can foundations contribute within the complex ecosystem of actors working toward the transition, by playing an intermediary or even catalytic role — on an issue that requires a systemic perspective and coordination across different scales (from local initiatives to national, European, and international decision-making)?
- How can foundations take part in shaping a new narrative — or even a new societal project — while contributing to the renewal of democratic practices, at a time when social, environmental, and political challenges are being questioned at both the European and international levels?
[1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (2023), « Climate Change 2023, Synthesis Report - Summary for Policymakers » - https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf
[2] Nicolas Duvoux, Michèle Lelièvre, Maël Ginsburger, Faire de la transition un levier de l’inclusion sociale. L’impact social de l’écologie, National Council for Policies to Combat Poverty and Exclusion, Report to the Prime Minister, 2024.
[3] Anne Monier, Anne Cornilleau, Kristy Romain, La philanthropie face aux défis environnementaux : Enjeux et perspective pour une transition juste, Study by the Philanthropy and Society Observatory of the Fondation de France, 2024
[4] Morena, E. (2021) Beyond 2% : From Climate Philanthropy to Climate Justice Philanthropy, Edge Alliance / UNRISD.
