Integrated Systems Approaches for Accelerating a Just Transition (JUSTSystems)
This project is led by the University of Aberdeen in collaboration with the University of Stirling, University of Strathclyde, University of Edinburgh, Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER), and University of Reading. It is supported by the UK Committee on Climate Change, the UK Government, the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales, and various local authorities, regional organizations, and civil society partners.
Achieving a Just Transition to Net Zero is one of the defining challenges of modern times.
While many technological solutions exist for decarbonisation, the human challenges facing a fair and inclusive transition are substantial. Achieving the UK’s Net Zero aims will need to address both the question of emissions reduction and the creation of co-benefits that improve societal welfare. While many promising local initiatives address these 'wicked problems,' they are often niche or limited in scale and can be constrained by conflicting planning, finance, infrastructure, and regulation systems.
To achieve Net Zero at scale, we will need new approaches that address these constraints and meet the needs for a human-centred transition that is fair, inclusive and regenerative.
JUST-Systems will develop a suite of integrated systems approaches that position people at the centre of the transition to NetZero and accelerate action on decarbonisation, local economies and social justice.
By understanding the interactions between people, policies, and technologies and having them co-create the research, we can design better and more inclusive interventions. Systems approaches can support the identification of synergies and trade-offs between climate strategies and priorities like health or social inclusion, focus on the blocks and points of leverage for change, and reveal what interventions deliver the most benefits.
JUST-Systems will facilitate partnerships across five diverse UK case studies where we can understand the challenges of transitions in multiple lived contexts and co-develop pathways for action and investment. Building on this place-based approach, we will develop a co-designed Net Zero Systems Platform to support the evaluation of
Just Transition scenarios across various carbon, technological, social, and economic drivers and objectives. This will inform stakeholders of how change can be achieved, what steps need to be taken, what trade-offs are required and how we can empower and build capacity for change. Through our collective case studies across the UK, we will develop governance solutions that can be trialled, shared, and scaled to inform other places and sectors. We will work closely with our government, business, and civil society partners to inform, collaborate, and build new and robust partnerships to deliver a people-centred transition to Net Zero.
IER will lead a case study concerning domiciliary care in Wales.
Redesigning domiciliary care is vital to building climate resilience. Domiciliary care workers across the UK are estimated to travel more than four million miles daily, mainly using private petrol/diesel vehicles due to inadequate public transport and the limited availability of EVs. Most workers cannot afford newer fuel-efficient cars, and fuel costs are high, particularly in rural areas.
Demand for care will grow dramatically, given the focus on ageing in place and a growing older population. Therefore, the system of domiciliary care delivery is a critical test case for Net Zero. However, the sector faces problems with funding, care costs, care quality, working conditions, market fragility and geographical variations in access and performance. Environmental sustainability demands a transformation of care models founded on innovation, behavioural and cultural change and new approaches to system governance. Yet, while this provides a new lens through which to consider the future design of the domiciliary care system, Net Zero will need help to gain traction in the face of competing challenges.
Drawing momentum from the Welsh Government’s Just Transition Framework, this case presents a unique opportunity to co-create sustainable models for care delivery, utilising the knowledge of small businesses and disadvantaged members of communities –workers and care recipients – seldom engaged in dialogue around Net Zero.
Project Team:
Philip Taylor (Principal Investigator)
Project Duration:
February 2025 - January 2030
Project Funder:
