Quicktake

Why Climate Advocates Demand a ‘Just Transition’ Away From Fossil Fuels

The concept, which originated in the labor movement, has become a focus of advocacy at global climate meetings such as COP28. 

A wind turbine near Oakland, Maryland. 

Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Fossil fuels — and those who worked extracting, refining and distributing them — helped build the modern world. But with their continued use threatening to make the planet unlivable, countries are increasingly trying to cut their reliance on them. As they do, a question arises: What happens to the workers and communities that depend on fossil fuel industries?