Presentation short abstract

Dominant JT paradigms remain limited by a Eurocentric approach that foregrounds the priorities and struggles of formal waged workers in the global North. In response, this article proposes a project of ‘reworlding’ just transitions based on an engagement with the voices, experiences and imaginations

Presentation long abstract

The just transition (JT) framework provides one of the most promising global pathways to securing workers’ rights in the context of a shift to low-carbon production. Yet it remains limited by a top-down, Eurocentric approach that foregrounds the priorities and struggles of waged workers in the formal sectors of the global North. In response, this article proposes a project of ‘reworlding’ just transitions based on an engagement with the voices, experiences and imaginations of unwaged and informalised workers in the majority world. The argument unfolds in two parts. First, the article offers a critique of the limited geographical, sectoral and epistemological scope of dominant JT approaches. Second, it introduces a series of alternative and open-ended visions of transition drawn from the experiences of three influential grassroots movements rooted in the global South: the Landless Workers Movement (MST), the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and StreetNet International. The article concludes by advocating for an expanded and pluralistic approach to just transitions that foregrounds questions of social and ecological, as well as economic justice.