The European Green Deal (EGD) aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with climate neutrality in 2050. European societies should undergo a transition towards a carbon-neutral society (hereafter shortened to transition). The EGD seeks to design deeply transformative transition strategies, under the principle of leaving no one behind. This implies that no European citizen should be put at a disadvantage because of the EGD. The EU introduced the Just Transition Mechanism to show solidarity with the most polluted and affected regions in Europe. Regions across Europe are now designing and implementing just transition plans in order to receive funding and support from the Just Transition Mechanism.

However, there are three major knowledge gaps and societal barriers concerning the social acceptance of transition strategies. First, the link between transition strategies and the impact on marginalized communities remains poorly understood. Transition policies have the risk of predominantly benefitting already privileged citizens. Less visible and more vulnerable groups have less opportunity to reap the benefits of the transition. Second, research has shown that citizens want more influence on how the transition will take place. However, meaningful ways of deliberation are rare and have a tendency to reproduce social inequalities. Third, more research is needed on the causes and consequences of growing polarization vis-à-vis transition strategies. Low social acceptance of transition policies has been a significant barrier to the implementation of those policies and can lead to political polarization.

We believe that there is a mismatch between the understanding of marginalized communities, participatory governance and transition plans, which leads to social and political opposition to these plans. Therefore, the overall aim of this project, which is called BOLSTER, is to understand how marginalized communities are affected by EGD-related policies and whether involving them in decision-making processes increases the support for transition plans.

To achieve this goal, BOLSTER will use the latest (action)-research methods and, while studying marginalized groups, regional institutions and transition plans and processes, it will design and promote novel transition guidelines and participatory governance models based on climate justice and gender equality. The application thereof will foster a more just transition and support the implementation of the goals of the EGD and NextGenerationEU.

The project is funded through a Horizon Europe grant of 3,8 million euro. I am the PI and I work together with 12 European partners. More information can be found here.

With the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, countries pledged to create climate plans to keep the earth from warming up more than 1,5 degree Celsius. Across the globe national and supranational plans are implemented to reduce carbon emissions to a level that keeps global heating manageable. These plans fundamentally restructure the economy, change legal practices, and alter political and societal patterns. This raises two important questions. First, to what extend can we see differences and similarities between the scope of these plans and how these plans are being implemented. What kind of different pathways to decarbonization can be distinguished? Second, can we see the transformation of the welfare state into a climate state? Whereas the welfare state mainly takes care for citizens, the climate state also takes care for the environment. The scale of many of the climate plans suggests that something like a climate state is emerging.

Therefore, we investigate four (supra)national climate plans; the European Green Deal, the American Inflation Reduction Act, the South Korean Green Deal and the Japanese Green Growth Strategy. Those plans are selected because there is an ambition to become climate neutral in 2050 and they are being implemented in strongly industrialized economies and well-developed welfare states. The goal is to compare the plans and understand whether we can see the contours of a climate state emerging. Therefore, we critically analyze the plans and the laws and policies that are connected to the ambition to become climate neutral in 2050. Next, we have interviews with the key actors that are involved in either the design of the plans, the implementation of the plans or are knowledgeable about the impact of the plans. Those key actors can be people working for the different layers of government, representatives of businesses and industry, NGOs and research institutes. The goal is to understand the ideas behind the climate plans; and the main criticisms on those plans. We want to know what kind of solutions are preferred, mitigation, adaption or other directions. Moreover, we are interested in what kind of governance models these plans are being implemented. Are there opportunities for participation? Or is the approach more top-down. Next, we want to find out what kind of technological solutions are being prioritized. Are there discussions on nuclear energy or hydrogen? Or are solar and wind energy preferred? These questions helps us to understand differences and similarities between the plans and create a typology of the climate state.