Researcher co-edits special issue highlighting how just energy transition can happen globally


LAWRENCE — As the world continues a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, entire communities are being left behind or overlooked. A University of Kansas researcher has co-edited a new special issue of a journal examining how public planners can play a part in ensuring a just energy transition around the globe.

“From a planetary standpoint, we have to get off of coal, but there are people employed at coal plants. And there are communities that are very dependent on fossil fuels,” said Ward Lyles, associate professor of public affairs & administration at KU and one of the editors of the journal issue. “As you look around the world there are people who are making choices about their energy future and finding it’s not always a just future for everyone.”

Lyles, along with Fayola Jacobs and Elise Harrington of the University of Minnesota, edited a special issue of the journal Planning Theory & Practice. The issue invited scholars from around the world to explore topics in a just energy transition and how planners can play a part in equity and justice, policy and governance, community engagement, innovation and technology, alternative models of ownership, workforce and jobs, and other factors.

“This issue’s pieces offer planning a call to action, an encouragement to redouble our efforts to address justice in both traditional planning areas and increasingly important arenas, such as energy. We are reminded that a transition away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels and shift in energy production technologies does not inherently result in processes and practices that reshape social and economic systems for good, from documenting the prevalence of unjust financial practices in the solar industry to re-centering non-human beings in the energy transition,” the editors write in their introduction.

The journal includes submissions from authors representing five continents exploring topics in just energy transition in both the Global North and South. Paired teams offered pieces addressing a topic as well as a response from peers. Topics covered include energy poverty in the Global North, socially and ecologically just energy transitions, the politics of resistance to planning for just energy transitions, debilitating debt’s role and the dual role of urban artificial intelligence in such transitions.

The contributed pieces give examples of attempts at just transition, such as the European Union’s support of switching to renewable energy, with unintended consequences of communities in Spain, often poor communities, being overlooked and left without dependable access to electricity. Others examine how politics of resistance have cropped up in locations such as Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia, often in response to an urban bias in energy transition. All three nations are major coal producers and have committed to a just energy transition, but they have seen debates and resistance in areas traditionally overlooked in policy discussions.

The pieces point out potential issues, such as poverty and how they stand in the way of a just energy transition, while the responses examine ways urban planning can take the examples to heart and ensure that current and future generations can be just and equitable in their work toward that goal.

“While people may think of these energy problems being in Madrid, Nairobi or other major cities in other countries, they are also right here,” Lyles said. “There are already winners and losers in places like Kansas that are getting funding to address these questions and issues of air quality, justice and place-based solutions, to deal with energy transition as it lands in communities.”

Authors point out how efforts to aid an energy transition are often well intentioned and how technology designed to assist can perpetuate injustices.

“The digital divide — a disparity in access to and literacy in digital technologies — risks benefiting only certain population segments with AI-driven energy initiatives. Those lacking necessary technology or digital skills may be further marginalized in an increasingly digitized energy landscape. Additionally, data privacy and surveillance concerns arise as urban AI systems collect and analyze vast amounts of personal and community data,” writes Mennatullah Hendawy of Ain Shams University in Cairo. “Without robust safeguards and transparent governance, AI in energy management could lead to intrusive monitoring of individuals’ energy consumption patterns, infringing on personal freedoms and privacy. Therefore, to support a just energy transition, AI deployment must adhere to fairness, transparency and inclusivity, ensuring broad accessibility and mitigating potential negative impacts like job displacement in traditional energy sectors.”

While the contributions come from around the globe and from scholars from a variety of disciplines, the editors said they all show how urban planning can and should play a vital role in ensuring a just energy transition. The issue’s format with brief contributions and responses were intended to ensure a conversational look at global topics that can have local appeal.

“We wanted topics that were complementary,” Lyles said. “Rather than curating a book, it’s more like curating a few journal articles or conversations that are very inclusive of diverse voices on what needs to happen for a just energy transition.”

Mon, 02/03/2025

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Mike Krings

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