As climate change accelerates, the need for energy transitions is critical. Fossil fuel use continues to dominate greenhouse gas emissions, and replacing carbon-intensive sources of energy with low-carbon sources are essential to limit global warming.

However, transitioning to greener sources of energy poses a unique set of challenges, and care must be taken to ensure these transitions take into account the socioeconomic impact of the changes. While scholars have coined the term “just energy transitions” to underscore the importance of guaranteeing equity for affected populations during the transitions, this continues to be a loosely defined term.

This report from SEI researchers analysed the “justness” of energy transition policies in China and southeast Asia. The team designed a 18-indicator framework of “just” elements based on literature reviews and author expertise, then randomly selected up to 10 energy policies from each country studied for analysis. Just transition elements in each policy were identified using the SEI AI Policy Reader tool, a large language model developed by other SEI researchers and trained on policy documents. The authors used this information to manually score each policy on how well it incorporates just transitions.

Based on the analysis, most policies in these regions fell short in addressing justice elements as established in the 18-indicator framework. While more policy analysis is needed, the team urges policymakers to prioritize equality as a fundamental component of energy transition programs rather an afterthought, and provide concrete objectives to achieve indicators of justice.