A Role for State Attorneys General in a Just Transition

ALIGN “is a longstanding alliance of labor and community organizations united for a just and sustainable New York.”

Appalachian Voices “brings people together to protect the land, air and water of Central and Southern Appalachia and advance a just transition to a generative and equitable clean energy economy.”

The BlueGreenAlliance, a member organization comprised of a number of larger national environmental organizations and labor unions, recently published a statepolicytoolkitreport on “crafting state policy that rebuilds a cleaner, safer, more equitable economy.” This organization also released an “Energy Transition Policy Framework” that recommends policies for both workers and communities that will have both “immediate and long-term benefits.” In 2021, the California Teamsters and California state policy office of the BlueGreen Alliance together pushed for the passage of a statute that aims to reduce truck emissions through incentives that are also tied to compliance with workplace standards.

The Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (formerly the Labor Leading on Climate Initiative at Cornell ILR’s Worker Institute) is “guiding New York and the nation’s transition to a strong, equitable, and resilient clean energy economy that tackles the climate crisis, creates high-quality jobs, confronts race and gender inequality, and builds a diverse and inclusive workforce.” The Institute “help[s] policy makers and labor, environmental and industry leaders navigate this historic transition through cutting-edge applied research, deep relationships with on-the-ground partners, and innovative training and education programs.”

Climate Jobs National Resource Center (CJNRC) is a labor-focused organization working to “combat climate change, create good union jobs, and reverse racial and economic inequality by building a worker-centered renewable economy.” CJNRC works collaboratively with the Labor Leading On Climate Initiative at the Worker Institute of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Through this collaboration, CJNRC has helped to form state-level coalitions of labor unions in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, and Texas. Most have produced reports outlining state- and city-specific policy recommendations for building a just transition. These reports can lead to unions signing onto recommendations for reducing emissions in the state.

The Climate Justice Alliance is a member alliance of 84 urban and rural frontline communities, organizations, and supporting networks in the climate justice movement. The Alliance focuses on uniting frontline communities and organizations in order to push “a just transition away from extractive systems of production, consumption and political oppression, and towards resilient, regenerative and equitable economies.”

Front & Centered is a coalition of community groups in Washington State that are led by people of color and that have committed themselves to working towards a just transition. During the 2022 legislative session, this coalition advocated for bills that included 5 billion dollars for public transportation and other transportation solutions such as more bike paths.

The Green Workers Alliance focuses on bringing together “current and future workers” in the clean energy industries, with a specific focus on organized labor at utility-scale solar and wind projects.

Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition brings together “environmental advocacy organizations, businesses, community leaders, consumer advocates, environmental justice groups, and faith-based and student organizations” to work on policies affecting public health, the environment, consumer rights, and workers in Illinois.

Just Transition Alliance unites frontline workers (specifically workers in the service, energy, farmworker, and chemical industries), and fenceline communities (people of color, Indigenous Peoples and low-income communities) to shift towards a more sustainable economy. The Alliance pushes for “strategies that embody the priorities of workers and communities hit hardest by climate change.”

The Just Transition Centre, established by the International Trade Union Confederation, is an international organization that facilitates conversations, trainings, and initiatives to “ensure that [labor] has a seat at the table when planning for a Just Transition to a low-carbon world.”

Just Transition Fund provides investments and assistance to communities most impacted by the transition away from coal with the goal of advancing “economic solutions that are equitable, inclusive, and low carbon.”

The Labor Energy Partnership (LEP), a collaboration of the AFL-CIO and Energy Futures Initiative, seeks to integrate the labor and climate fields and produce “timely research that provides actionable recommendations for clean energy policy.”

Labor Network for Sustainability works with unions and labor groups to address the climate crisis and builds partnerships between labor interests and the climate movement.

Resilience Force is a national organization that advocates for solutions and better policies for people who work on responding to disasters.

NY Renews is a coalition of over 300 environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups focused on implementing the New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The organization explains: “We fight for good jobs and climate justice, and we’re not finished yet.”

The UC Berkeley Labor Center has a green economy program that researches “job creation, quality, access, and training in the emergent green economy” and assists “state agencies, labor, and other stakeholders” that are developing climate policy that intersects with labor interests.

WE ACT for Environmental Justice is an environmental justice oriented community-based organization in West Harlem. Together with the Environmental Leadership Forum (a national coalition of 54 environmental justice organizations), they issued a Green Jobs Report offering policy solutions for “closing the diversity gap within the Green Jobs and renewable energy sectors.”

The Worker Institute at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations “engages in research and education on contemporary labor issues, to generate innovative thinking and solutions to problems related to work, economy and society.” The group “brings together researchers, educators and students with practitioners in labor, business and policymaking to confront growing economic and social inequalities, in the interests of working people and their families.” As noted above, Cornell ILR also has a Climate Jobs Institute.