Intergenerational Justice and Just Transitions in the Coal Districts of India

The climate crisis forces humankind to find alternative energy sources beyond fossil fuels. The transition to newer forms of energy has inherent scientific and political challenges and raises the question of intergenerational justice. Historically, many generations have used fossil fuels for a better lifestyle. Then why should future generations suffer from uncertain sources of energy? We, therefore, arrive at the pressing issue of just energy transitions.

Current social science literature on energy acknowledges it as an issue of intergenerational justice but is limited to theoretical debates. In particular, existing literature does not address what communities perceive as intergenerational energy justice and how it intersects with social identities. Thus, we investigate what constitutes intergenerational justice for a coal community in India. Using the Bourdieusian formulation of capital, we examine the scope and pattern of justice that underpins a just energy transition. We analyse 25 semi-structured interviews with various categories of coal workers to determine what intergenerational justice means to them.

First, our results show that energy transitions are not recognised as an intergenerational justice issue. Instead, they are perceived as abstract future events without real connections to the present generation. Second, we find that articulating energy transition as an issue of intergenerational mobility allows local communities to establish links between the present generation and a future event. Finally, the results indicate that intersections of social identities and occupational positions produce heterogeneous ideas of intergenerational justice. Our analysis of intergenerational justice contributes to energy justice literature and enables decision-makers to refine their conceptualisation of just transitions.