Dr. Matthew Dalbey, a faculty member in the Sustainable Urban Planning program, recently participated in a convening at the Rockefeller Foundation Center in Bellagio, Italy. The convening, entitled “Creating Just Transition Ecosystems,” was sponsored by the Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs (JHCGA) and the Energy Foundation China.
Over four days beginning Monday April 14, approximately 20 researchers and practitioners explored regional and subnational level shared approaches and challenges in navigating the energy transformation in coal-producing regions toward clean energy economies and economic diversification that benefits workers and communities across the U.S., China, and Europe.
These discussions included ways to:
- Strengthen a durable subnational network for ongoing collaboration among diverse stakeholders.
- Establish a baseline of shared knowledge on effective strategies for just energy transitions.
- Identify the tools needed to adapt and apply key learnings across local contexts, supporting regional and subnational sustainable energy transitions.
The convening aligned with JHCGA’s ongoing U.S.-China Coal Regions and Energy Transition Dialogues, held since 2021 in partnership with the Energy Foundation China. The Bellagio convening brought in European coal regions’ perspectives.
Dr. Dalbey was the lead discussant on three panels related to workforce development, grassroots approaches to a just transition, and ways to improve coordination between local community-based organizations and state/provincial and national governments.