A Just Transition for VT
Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy is essential for protecting our future. A just transition means that no one is left behind or unfairly burdened on the path to a sustainable world.
Why a Just Transition Matters
The roots of the climate crisis and other social injustices are the same.
Our world is built on resource extraction, worker exploitation, and overconsumption; our economy prioritizes profits for the ultra-rich over the well-being of people and planet. True climate solutions must bring about a Just Transition to a regenerative economy that more fairly recirculates wealth, promotes the health and resiliency of communities and ecosystems, and provides jobs in sustainable stewardship and low-emissions energy.
We are committed to uplifting the voices of those who are often disregarded, whose needs are often overlooked in favor of those who are more powerful. We are committed to fighting for space at the table for those who have been excluded from decisionmaking. We are committed to showing up for our allies, recognizing that their work is part of the overall movement for climate justice.
We can’t win without a just transition for all.
A Just Transition for VT
Volunteers in 350VT's network have spent thousands of hours researching, discussing, and collecting input on the climate action steps that will best serve Vermonters (along with the rest of life on Earth!). We’ve identified true climate solutions that keep energy dollars in our local economies, improve our quality of life and resilience to disasters, safeguard our health and the health of our planet’s ecosystems, and reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Any climate response must, at minimum:
Serve community well-being, not corporate profit.
Meet the needs of everyday people in Vermont, particularly low-income, BIPOC, and other vulnerable communities.
Significantly cut energy use and greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, and phase out combustible fuels.
Strengthen natural systems’ ability to draw down and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.
Strengthen human and ecological resilience to climate change and catastrophic events.
Avoid energy alternatives that simply export damages to elsewhere in the world.
The Just Transition Alliance
From the Just Transition Alliance website:
“The Just Transition Alliance (JTA) formed in 1997 when grassroots leaders José Bravo, Tom Goldtooth, Richard Moore, Pam Tau Lee, Connie Tucker and Jenice View saw the urgent need for cross-movement collaboration between environmental justice (EJ) struggles and labor unions.”
“We ground our work in building relationships with workers in polluting industries and communities affected by those industries. We strengthen collaboration between these groups to activate just transition pathways away from toxic processes and towards safe, dignified and deeply rewarding livelihoods.”