Just transition in framework climate laws: Between meaningful governance and performative law

Abstract A growing number of governments are taking legislative measures to advance a ‘just transition’. This emerging legislative practice has, however, gathered limited scholarly attention. To understand the meaning and impact of this novel trend, this article undertakes a comparative case study on the operationalisation of just transition within framework climate laws in Ireland, Scotland and Spain. The article identifies and assesses three mechanisms through which the concept is operationalised: (1) definition and legal status, (2) planning and reporting requirements and (3) just transition advisory bodies. The analysis shows how these mechanisms can amount to meaningful just transition governance – if applied in good faith – by establishing justice as a new expectation for climate policy within the jurisdiction and putting in place the planning frameworks and institutional setups for ensuring its fulfilment within subsequent practice. The legal requirements also substantially shape the realisation of just transitions, by determining the meaning of the concept as well as the actors, information and considerations that are considered relevant within the policymaking process. This ultimately determines the justice concerns the mechanisms manage to identify and address. Moreover, in cases of bad faith or lack of capacity, the abstract and aspirational nature of the legal requirements, combined with the lack of robust accountability, can transform the mechanisms into performative law that promises justice without necessarily delivering.