Climate series: New project grant: Just transitions towards net zero societies in 10 countries

Professor Vera Trappmann has been awarded a research grant of 556k EUR to investigate a 10-country comparison on climate change policies and just transition.

‘Just transition’ encompasses a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating climate change.

With a particular interest into workers and organised labour’s role, Professor Trappmann and colleague Dr Dennis Eversberg from the Institute of Sociology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, the project examines trade union and labour policy concepts and initiatives for fair transitions to climate-neutral production and climate-friendly societies.

The aim of the project is to trace the emergence and development of the ideas, debates and strategies of labour policy for just transitions in the field of climate policy in different countries, sectors and regions.

The project also seeks to determine which factors affect action and strategies in the social, economic and political context of the countries included in the study, namely, Germany, UK, Spain, Poland, Russia, China, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil, USA and Chile as well as Québec.

This international research project sees Leeds University Business School collaborating with partners in Poland and Russia and the USA. From the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC) colleagues include Dr Jo Cutter and Dr Jiachen Shi, and from the University’s School of Politics Associate Professor, Alex Beresford

More information on related project ‘The worker voice in Just Transitions to a low-carbon economy: building evidenced based policy making in Yorkshire and the Humber’ can be found here.