Energy transition – providing a soft landing for fossil fuel workers and communities.
A Just Transition
Transitioning to clean energy sources shouldn’t mean pulling the rug out from under communities or leaving workers without a safety net. But that’s exactly what coal, oil, and gas companies are doing when business is bad: paying executives millions, while neglecting communities and employees.
WildEarth Guardians believes it’s time for A Just Transition. That means providing resources for communities to shift to more sustainable, prosperous economies, and for workers to move into more secure and lucrative careers. To that end, we advocate for state, local, and federal legislation and leadership to secure a just transition for all.
What We’re After
Supporting Communities and Individuals
Healthcare for miners. Job retraining opportunities. There’s no reason workers and communities should be left hanging upon coal’s inevitable exit.
Ensuring Economic Viability
Communities need resources to move to clean energy economies. The federal government, local government, utilities, and businesses can help.
Fostering Bold Change
For all of us in the American West, the time for possibilities and solutions is at-hand. Fossil fuels won’t power our future, so let’s shift the paradigm.
How We’ll Get There
Securing legal support for communities
The only surefire way to transition from fossil fuels is to incentivize communities not to invest further in coal, oil, and gas. With the help of local and state legislatures, we aim to develop, implement, and sustain economic alternatives to help communities transition.
Making A Just Transition Interior’s priority
The Interior Department may not fully embrace A Just Transition now, but we have plenty of opportunities to force it to acknowledge the need to support transition in the future—whether by protesting unfair mining proposals or suggesting ways to re-invest coal royalties into communities.
Linking transition and conservation
Transition will invariably require protecting our public lands so communities can benefit economically from outdoor recreation, ecotourism, and hunting and fishing in places once blighted by fossil fuel production. Working with partners, we’ll ensure transition is a part of land protection initiatives.
