Just Transitions for Oil and Gas Communities

Abstract

Calls for a “just transition” for communities now dependent on fossil fuel extraction, production, and processing are increasingly driving national and international climate law and climate advocacy. This paper identifies a critical area of focus: Under U.S. law (and, indeed, under the law of most nation-states) there is not a clear just transition mechanism for communities economically reliant upon oil and gas industries – indeed, even the partial mechanisms available for many coal communities are largely absent. This gap is likely to create substantial legal, equitable, and practical obstacles to a rapid transition away from these fuels. The paper suggests mechanisms which could allow such communities to capture capital from incumbent oil and gas industrial actors to support their transition, including providing funds for community services and transitioning workers. It illustrates how such mechanisms could be instituted in the context of California, a major oil-and-gas producing jurisdiction that also has an ambitious climate policy. It closes with recommendations to advocates and to scholars, emphasizing that sustained attention to distributional justice in energy and environmental law and policy is critical.