Just Energy Transition Conceptual Framework

The framework examines the potential for renewable energy industrialisation to advance a just energy transition by focusing on localisation strategies and the link between economic and social upgrading. It employs a Global Production Networks (GPN) perspective, integrated with Marxist, feminist, and ecological political economy, to analyse value creation and power relations. To operationalise these theories, the project uses an assessment matrix to evaluate employment quality, ownership patterns, and capability development in local firms.

• The framework defines localisation as a development pathway rather than a technical shift, focusing on building local manufacturing and assembly capacity, increasing domestic ownership, expanding local employment, and using domestic resources for local markets.
• A core objective is analyzing the relationship between economic upgrading and social upgrading, where the latter encompasses improvements in wages, working conditions, workers' rights, gender equity, racial justice, and community wellbeing.
• The analytical approach utilizes the Global Production Networks (GPN) perspective combined with Marxist, feminist, and ecological political economy to examine value capture and power relations between firms, states, workers, and civil society.
• The project employs an assessment matrix to translate the conceptual framework into empirical research, specifically measuring value creation, value capture, social upgrading, and localisation.

APA

iej (2026). Just Energy Transition Conceptual Framework. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/just-energy-transition-conceptual-framework/

Chicago

iej. Just Energy Transition Conceptual Framework. Institute for Economic Justice, 2026. https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/just-energy-transition-conceptual-framework/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=iej |title=Just Energy Transition Conceptual Framework |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=19 February 2026 |url=https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/just-energy-transition-conceptual-framework/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{iej2026just, author = {iej}, title = {{Just Energy Transition Conceptual Framework}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/resource/research-report/just-energy-transition-conceptual-framework/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }