From Coal to Clean Energy: Protecting People Through the Transition

Our warming world needs to wean itself away from fossil fuels, but closing coal mines can impact jobs and communities. How can we ensure people and communities are at the center of the transition away from coal? In this episode of The Development Podcast, we hear about the challenges and opportunities involved in this important transition.

We get the view from some Indian women benefiting from new green jobs, hear from new solar panel owners, and from Reema Nanavaty, director of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).

We also hear from World Bank experts Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer, Lead Economist with the Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice, and Rachel Perks, Senior Mining Specialist with the Energy & Extractives Global Practice. They explain why this task can’t be left to future generations to fix, and how phasing out coal can mean new opportunities for communities and jobs. Listen now!

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Timestamps

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[01:36] Trends with coal production in recent years

[06:54] Visions of India moving away from coal

[11:53] Just transition, coal, and climate change

[14:02] What's behind turning off coal

[15:55] Progress made around the world

[17:12] The impact of closing down coal mines

[21:05] Transitions and new livelihoods and opportunities

[22:54] Historical perspective and lessons learned

[24:40] Stakeholder engagement and consultations

[26:39] Land repurposing

[29:03] Closure and thanks for tuning!

Featured Voices

• Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer, Lead Economist, Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice, World Bank: "There are a whole slew of jobs that will be needed in that renewable energy space. A lot of these coal mining jobs are taken up by people who aren't youth, and then youth are struggling to find some alternative."
• Rachel Perks, Senior Mining Specialist, Energy & Extractives Global Practice, World Bank: "We also have to be very sensitive that these are communities that have been dependent on their livelihoods and their identities for generations. Now we're asking them to reimagine, in fact, what their entire community is going to look like."
• Reema Nanavaty, Director of India’s Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA): "You create a nurturing economy, generate greener livelihoods, and that is what exactly is just transition."

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