Finance
A 2017 booklet which is a follow-up, six years later, to the first booklet that was produced in 2011. It is based on well-researched solutions for how South Africa can immediately begin a 'just transition', away from the Minerals-Energy Complex that continues to dominate the South
African capitalist economy, to a low carbon economy in which the basic needs of communities are met in an equitable, sustainable and affordable way.
[Originally posted at https://lifeaftercoal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/OMCJ-booklet-AIDC-FINAL-4-Oct17.pdf]
A 2017 pamphlet which makes the case for a 'just transition' and energy democracy from the perspective of a civil service trade union, based on public ownership and democratic control of energy that provides an opportunity to re-vision and rebuild our public services for people not profit.
[Originally posted at https://www.pcs.org.uk/sites/default/files/site_assets/resources/green_workplaces/2017/Just%20Transition%20&%20Energy%20Democracy%20-%20a%20civil%20service%20trade%20union%20perspective.pdf]
A 2020 paper which provides a high-level and accessible overview of the most prominent methods and metrics emerging in the public and private sector to assess Paris alignment of finance flows and guide investment decisions.
[Originally posted at https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/aligning-finance-with-the-paris-agreement-an-overview-of-concepts-approaches-progress-and-necessary-action/]
A 2021 policy report which sets out why central banks in the EU need to adopt net-zero strategies, and provides seven concrete recommendations for how they can. The report builds on the global framework set out in the authors’ recent publication Net-zero central banking: A new phase in greening the financial system, and applies its approach to the specific priorities and mandates of EU central banks.
[Originally posted at https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/climate-neutral-central-banking-how-the-european-system-of-central-banks-can-support-the-transition-to-net-zero/]
A 2022 book which provides a comprehensive overview of the financing gap that emerging and developing countries face to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate goals. It provides detailed country- and region-level analysis of the challenges and
opportunities of scaling up sustainable finance and investment and discusses the range of instruments that could be used to reach these climate and development objectives.
[Originally posted at https://cepr.org/publications/books-and-reports/scaling-sustainable-finance-and-investment-global-south]
A 2022 report which came after the Green Finance and Development Center at FISF Fudan University, the Center for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London and the Boston University Global Development Policy Center co-hosted a workshop in March 2022 to explore potentials and strategies for the early retirement of coal plants. The workshop assessed the potential for early coal plant retirement, with a focus on China’s role in enabling this transition overseas. The workshop featured presentations on current practices and challenges of early retirement of coal-fired power plants. The workshop also featured a panel discussion on how such early retirement mechanisms could be applied, especially for China’s overseas investments.
[Originally posted at https://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2022/06/GCI_PB_014_FIN.pdf]
A 2018 paper which contributes to the emerging field of urban sustainability transitions by examining how the scaling up of decarbonisation is achieved across space, beyond local niche experimentation. It identifies a critical limitation of existing multilevel frameworks which recognise non-linearities and multiplicity of pathways, but maintain an a-spatial diffusion or aggregation model of scaling. To address this gap, the paper analyses financial relations underpinning urban renewable energy interventions in order to illuminate spatial difference in scaling processes. Drawing on empirical cases across national contexts, the paper defines four ‘financial rules’ through which to understand the spatial and scalar boundaries of urban sustainability interventions. These financial rules have distinct implications for the possibilities and limits of ‘just’ transition in cities.
[Originally posted at https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=37305]
A 2021 report which presents Inclusive Green Finance (IGF) as a holistic approach to policymaking that links environmental sustainability and
financial inclusion. IGF addresses the risks posed by climate change on social inclusion and poverty reduction, as well as environmental risks to the financial system.
[Originally posted at https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/35214/1/Volz%20et%20al%202021%20Inclusive%20Green%20Finance.pdf]
A 2021 report which outlines a set of proposals to align the UK’s public finance ecosystem with the government’s climate goals, including a new governance framework to oversee all four institutions and exploit synergies, establish a clear line of democratic accountability, and ensure a more cohesive public finance ecosystem.
[Originally posted at https://neweconomics.org/2021/09/greening-public-finance]
A 2020 executive summary of a book, under the same title, which presents progressive proposals to build a fair financial system that can respond to the climate crisis, assess their potential impact, achievability and any associated drawbacks.
[Originally posted at https://www.tni.org/en/changefinance]
A 2019 report which proposes the creation of a democratized US Green Investment Bank (GIB). A democratized GIB has the potential to catalyze a transition to a socially just and environmentally sustainable future that is otherwise impossible under the short-term, high-return regime of private financiers (regardless of the extent of their financial resources).
[Originally posted at https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/31655/]
A 2021 report which considers the impact on jobs as a result of the transition away from high carbon industries and growth in sectors likely
to benefit from a low carbon future. While the analysis is specific to the UK, the recommendations for investors are relevant at a global, national and local level.
[Originally posted at https://www.rathbonegreenbank.com/insight/financing-just-transition-report]
Hot Reports
Covid-19 and a Just Transition in India's Coal Mining Sector
The COVID 19 pandemic hit India hard in early 2020, with negative GDP growth and a surge in unemployment. In the energy sector, coal fired power generation was already under pressure from overcapacity, low electricity demand growth, and increasingly competitive renewables.
Considerations for a Just and Equitable Energy Transition
As the energy transition accelerates, it is our responsibility, it is our opportunity, to ensure that in addition to contributing to a healthy planet by replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sources, this is accomplished in a just and equitable manner providing prosperity for all.
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