Work

Speed and Justice in a Renewable Energy Transition

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: A just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy has been associated with a variety of duties, including climate change mitigation and promoting procedural, distributive, and recognitional justice. Several authors have discussed transitional justice tensions between the need for rapid greenhouse gas emissions reductions and other aspects of a just transition, such as fair inclusion of stakeholders. We make the case that such trade-offs are often uncertain, and that this has important moral implications tied to inductive risks. Inductive risks arise when decision-making requires accepting or rejecting an uncertain statement, where the moral harms of errors may be asymmetrical. This line of reasoning suggests that very strong evidence should be required to accept that imposing injustices on marginalized populations is necessary for rapid emissions reductions.

Source: Ethics Policy & Environment

DOI: 10.1080/21550085.2026.2614931

Authors: Daniel Steel, Andrea Vásquez-Fernández, Brynmor Crookall, Rachel Cripps, C. Tyler DesRoches, Kian Mintz-Woo

Institutions: University of British Columbia, Arizona State University, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, University College Cork

Language: English

Topic: Political Philosophy and Ethics

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada