Towards a Sustainable Just Transition: Participatory Governance and Workers’ Evaluations of Transition Management in a Post-Lignite Region

The phase-out of carbon-intensive power generation systems has posed a multifaceted governance challenge for carbon-reliant regions in Europe. Despite highlighting the significance of fair and inclusive distribution and decision-making within the framework of the Just Transition Development Plan, empirical evidence is rather limited as regards the affected workers’ evaluative perceptions of the relevant transition management in impacted regions. The present research investigates the determinants shaping workers’ perceptions of Just Transition management in Western Macedonia, a major post-lignite region in Greece. Using original survey data collected from 189 workers, the analysis develops four composite indices, which capture perceptions of institutional readiness, expectations about economic transition outcomes, views on environmental and health implications, as well as levels of awareness, participation, and trust in the Just Transition Development Plan (SDAM, in Greek). The analysis employs a baseline cross-sectional Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, combined with an interaction model designed to assess whether the impact of participatory governance varies with economic expectations. The results demonstrate that awareness, participation, and perceived credibility of the transition plan have a strong and statistically significant positive impact on workers’ perceptions of transition management, whereas institutional readiness, workers’ perceptions of broader regional economic prospects during the transition, and environmental or health implications do not significantly contribute to shaping respondents’ evaluations. The research provides micro-level empirical evidence, based on individual workers’ perceptions, while the economic expectations captured refer to broader regional economic trajectories during the transition. From a sustainability perspective, the findings suggest that workers’ evaluations of transition management are more strongly associated with participatory governance, transparency, and stakeholder engagement than with the specific regional economic expectations captured in the survey. Consequently, sustainable transition management must encompass not only environmental objectives but also inclusive and credible governance processes that foster social acceptance and regional resilience.