The British Academy builds on response to climate crisis with seven new reports exploring ‘just transitions’ to decarbonisation in the Asia-Pacific

The British Academy has today published seven in-depth reports exploring decarbonisation transitions in the Asia-Pacific as a whole, and China, India, Japan, and Australia specifically.

Drawing on research projects funded by the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the reports build on the Academy’s ongoing policy response to the climate crisis and focus on the needs and impacts of ‘just transitions’ (fair and inclusive transitions towards more sustainable economies and societies) for different groups across a variety of geographical, cultural and social contexts.

The reports:

• highlight actions required in the Asia-Pacific to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss;
• identify some of the potential opportunities and disruptions associated with decarbonising economies and societies; and
• provide lessons learnt for policymakers, communities, workers, businesses, NGOs and the wider public to carry out fair transitions in the region.

The reports include analyses of how Australia can have more productive conversations about transitioning away from coal and towards more sustainable forms of energy; a look at how Japan can move towards a Net Zero future; and an examination of how to equitably decarbonise India’s transportation system.

The Academy has also published a policy summary and synthesis which outlines key findings, ideas and lessons from across the research projects.

The research projects were funded under the ‘Just Transitions to Decarbonisation in the Asia-Pacific' research programme and follow a series of reports on just transitions which were published by the British Academy during COP26.

Professor Simon Goldhill, Foreign Secretary of the British Academy, said:

“Climate change is the existential challenge of our time. Ensuring Just Transitions whilst tackling climate change and biodiversity loss is key to supporting inclusive economies and societies in the future. These reports provide an important and wide-ranging resource for policymakers and the academic community while also exemplifying the importance of collaborative, internationally-minded scholarship. They also demonstrate the importance of SHAPE subjects (the Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) in understanding the complex human and social dimensions to environmental challenges and their solutions.

“On behalf of the British Academy, I would like to thank the researchers for their hard work, and I congratulate them on producing such timely and impactful research.”

The full list of reports is:

• "All Change: Equitably Decarbonising India's Transportation Sector" – Professor Subhes C Bhattacharyya, De Montfort University; Dr Sukanya Das, TERI School of Advanced Studies; Dr Andrew Mitchell, De Montfort University; Dr Gopal K Sarangi, TERI School of Advanced Studies;
• "Just Transitions in Australia: Moving Towards Low Carbon Lives Across Policy, Industry and Practice" – Professor Peter Adey, Royal Holloway, University of London; Professor Sarah Pink, Monash University; Professor Rob Raven, Monash University;
• "A Just Transition Away from Coal in Australia?" – Dr Gareth Edwards, University of East Anglia; Dr Robert McNeil, University of Sydney; Professor Susan Park, University of Sydney
• "Asia-Pacific ClimateScapes: Exploring Opportunities, Challenges and Trade-offs Toward Just Transitions for Decarbonisation" – Dr Peter Howson, Northumbria University; Dr Rini Astuti, Australian National University; Dr Oliver Hesengerth, Northumbria University; Professor Sara Kindon, Victoria University of Wellington
• "Facilitating a Just, Fair, and Affordable Energy Transition in the Asia-Pacific" – Dr Clare Richardson-Barlow, University of Leeds; Dr James Van Alstine, University of Leeds; Dr Donal Brown, University of Sussex; Dr Nofri Yenita Dahlan, Universiti Teknologi MARA
• "Just Transitions  in Japan" – Dr Leslie Mabon, Open University; Dr Andrew Chapman, Kyushu University; Professor Benjamin McLellen, Kyoto University
• "Just Transitions on the Ground: Ecological Civilisation in Urban China?" – Dr Ping Huang, University of Sheffield; Dr Xiaohui Hu, Nanjing Normal University; Professor David Tyfield, Lancaster University; Dr Linda Westman, University of Sheffield.