Just Transitions
Exploring how the move from an extractive to a regenerative economy can be delivered in a way that ensures the benefits of climate action are shared widely.
The world is embarking on an unprecedented transition. To deliver on the global commitments enshrined in the Paris Agreement, the UK must achieve zero carbon emissions by the mid-2030s.
Such a change will require the radical adaptation of both our energy system and the way we engage with energy as a society. Energy transitions have always been shaped by social, political and economic structures, and the transition ahead of us is as much a cultural transition as a physical one.
As a studio we aimed to explore how the move from an extractive to a regenerative economy can be delivered in a way that ensures the benefits of climate action are shared widely and the costs do not unfairly burden those least able to pay, or whose livelihoods such as those working in the polluting industries that are at risk as the economy shifts and changes.
Following the discovery of oil reserves in the North Sea during the mid 20th century, Aberdeen developed rapidly into the centre of Europe’s petroleum industry bringing with it significant wealth and investment
In 2021-2022 the region faces up to life after oil. Its location, infrastructure and legacy of knowledge and skills in the energy sector mean the area is well placed to reposition itself as the Energy Capital of Europe.
Taking Aberdeen and the stretch of coastline up to Peterhead as our territory of focus, the studio sought to explore and develop projects that place social and ecological justice at the heart of a just transition to a decarbonised future.
