Published in prestigious Nature Communications journal: Overcoming challenges to make the energy transition a just labour transition

Nov 10, 2025

A team of our researchers were recently published in the prestigious Nature Communications journal (with an international team from multiple institutions, including the Environmental Defense Fund).

Their commentary, Overcoming five key challenges to make the energy transition a just labor transition, explores how to ensure the shift to a low-emissions economy delivers decent work, protects livelihoods and leaves no one behind.

Our researchers Catherine Leining, Dave Maré, Affiliate Suzi Kerr and ex-Research Analyst Euan Richardson are co-authors on the commentary.

The authors identify five critical challenges policymakers must address:

1. Mismatch in jobs and skills — New green jobs may not align in skills, location, or timing with jobs lost in fossil fuels.
2. Context matters — Labour policies from high-income countries don’t always work in low- and middle-income contexts.
3. Informal workforce inclusion — Over 60% of the world’s workers are informal and risk being left out.
4. Ineffective place-based policies — Many revitalisation programs have failed to create lasting opportunities.
5. Financing gaps — Ambitious transitions need significant, sustainable funding.

For each challenge, they outline practical, evidence-based solutions—from targeted retraining and inclusive decision-making to innovative financing and better metrics—arguing the transition must be just, or there will just be no transition.

Recently the Environmental Defense Fund led a seminar based on the commentary in the journal. The seminar explored practical, evidence-based solutions to ensure workers and communities aren't left behind in the shift to net-zero emissions. Here is the recording for that seminar.