Just Green Transitions: Transforming or Transitioning to What? 

 This Roundtable is hosted within Track 7

Organizers :  

• Yahya Shaker, DIST - Politecnico di Torino
• Elena Todella, DIST - Politecnico di Torino
• Fiona Imami, Co-Plan
• Erblin Berisha, DIST - Politecnico di Torino

Speakers:  

• Alberto Giacometti, Nordregio
• Stefano Moroni, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) - Politecnico di Milano
• Dominic Stead, Department of Built Environment - Aalto University
• Anila Bejko, Co-Plan

The EU has put into action the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) accompanying the EU Reform Agenda which includes the “Green Transition” and its “Just Transition” dimension (European Commission, 2022). Within the JTM framework, the EU is supporting the sustainable transformations of the Member States (European Commission, 2021) through several strategic pillars, actions, and funding opportunities, aiming at integrating public and private funding, assuring reskilling (Marty, 2020) towards green jobs (UNEP, 2008), empowering and diversifying the EU economy through territorial cohesion (Marty, 2020) ensuring no one should left behind (European Commission, 2020). The biggest challenge is how these transformations/transitions could take place in an inclusive, just, and fair way (European Commission, 2019). 

Transitions and Transformations (Hölscher, et al, 2018) are two umbrella terms (Brand, 2016), near-synonyms (Chappin and Ligtvoet, 2014), and terminologies that refer to formal and informal institutional changes (Görg, et al, 2017) and denote (geo)political, social, institutional, and economic reforms (Rotmans et al., 2001). On the other hand, both concepts while trying to impose a new “normal”  or policy makers, require as well a shift in policy paradigm (Hall, P.A., 1993). This roundtable aims at opening the horizons to discuss and debate on various angles and perceptions of what is/are Just Green Transitions? Digging into the fundamentals, concepts, and conceptions of justice and justness; the principles of social and spatial justice, and Why Social Justice Matters? (Barry, 2005). Additionally it aims to discuss if these concepts are to bring a new paradigm shift, both in theory and practice(Daigneault, P.-M., 2015) As well, putting into question whether the so-called sustainable future is to expect transitions and/or transformations ? Speakers are invited to share their views, discuss, and debate their perceptions viewing the multiplicity or unitarity, objectivity or subjectivity, of the phenomena, values, ethics, ideals, ideas and ideologies behind what JGT might be. 

Keywords:  Just Green Transitions, European Green Deal, Social Justice, Spatial Justice, Spatial Planning and Territorial Governance