5:30 - 6:30
To stave off the worst impacts of climate change, a rapid transition away from fossil fuels must occur. Moving from theory to implementation for a large-scale energy transition, who will benefit from the energy transition and who will bear the burden? This talk discusses ways to think through how to advance a just transition and argues that the current political moment is ripe for an ambitious, justice-centered approach.
J. Mijin Cha is an assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is also a fellow at Cornell University's Climate Jobs Institute, a faculty advisory board member for the UCSC Center for Labor and Community, and a fellow at the Climate and Community Institute. Her book, A Just Transition for All: Workers and Communities for a Carbon-Free Future, was published by MIT Press in Dec. 2024. Dr. Cha is on the board of Greenpeace Fund, emeritus board member with the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment, and a member of the California Bar.