The report zooms into particular case studies and particular innovative actions which help to unlock bigger change in the given location. It scans different types of transformation barriers in coal and heavy industry-dependent regions: political, legal, governance, organisational, social, financial, and others. It also provides a variety of innovative answers given by the agents (champions) of change.
The climate crisis requires a rapid energy transition which entails complex challenges across society, economy, policy, governance, and others. The concept of a Just Transition – transition towards a climate-neutral economy in a fair way, leaving no one behind – was approved in the European Union as part of its social and economic development programme (the Green Deal) and is supported by the Just Transition Mechanism. The approach is also gaining increasing attention across the globe, which was visible at COP27 as well as other high-profile global events.
How to break down the barriers to transformation report is part of the Community Lab initiative, a knowledge and innovation reservoir of the Post Coal Future Lab, financed by EIT Climate-KIC. Both initiatives aim to support the Just Transition of coal-dependent regions. Authors of the report are: Aneta Skubida, Karol Sarna, Nela Binarová (Impact Hub) and Krzysztof Głowacki.
Intention of the report
This report aims to support the communities facing transition challenges. It provides knowledge and inspiration, encouraging the testing of new approaches with breakthrough potential in the fields of governance, stakeholder cooperation, mobilizing resources, and others. Our publication also helps to address complex challenges, allowing blockages to be identified on the way to addressing those challenges.
It shall serve the communities, especially their leaders, innovators and innovators-to-be interested in Just Transition in various social roles: members of national, regional and local governments, other officials, representatives of academia, non-governmental organizations, activists, creators, trade unions representatives, business and others. The report puts a special emphasis on analysing case studies from the perspective of Central, Eastern and Southern European countries (the so-called RIS scheme), but the logic of analysing the case studies (especially through the diagnosis of the enabling conditions for innovation to happen) can be found useful across the globe.