Introduction

“Just Transition” is a core principle of forward-looking climate change efforts to advance the decarbonization of the global economy. Just Transition demands that, hand-inhand with the shuttering of the fossil fuel-based economy, a structured policy agenda ensures that workers who lose jobs or incomes because of the shift away from fossil fuels are economically supported, with expansive aid also flowing into the communities whose economic health was entirely or substantially dependent directly on fossil fuel industries or on the industries supporting fossil fuel production.

This paper will set forth the general principles for what the author calls a “high bar” Just Transition using the Biden Administration’s Just Transition plans as an entry point to assess the current state of the Just Transition debate in the U.S. It is important to note that this evaluation takes place in the relative early days of the new Administration, and it will take time to see whether the rhetorical markers the president has set forth during his campaign and initial policy proposals match execution.

However, it is possible, even in the infancy of the Biden Administration, to juxtapose, on the one hand, the clear outlines of actions candidate Joe Biden promised, and some initial policy commitments since President Biden was sworn into office; versus, on the other hand, the significant long-standing policy and ideological barriers that, if not removed, pose major challenges to any Just Transition, let alone a “high bar” approach. It is also already possible to discern whether there is any indication the new Administration either intends to dismantle those barriers, or understands that barriers even exist.