Building Bridges to a Just Transition: Connecting India’s challenges and solutions with international experience

The document highlights the critical need for long-term, coordinated planning to manage the socio-economic shift away from coal in India, where the sector provides 70% of electricity and employs nearly 4 million people. It identifies seven priority elements for a just transition: long-term planning, union engagement, community engagement, addressing coal as a generational identity, local economic diversification, securing worker pensions, and environmental remediation. The brief argues that because coal is deeply embedded in the economy—contributing significantly to federal and state revenues in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha—unplanned contractions could cause severe instability. It recommends leveraging international experience, such as Germany's mine closures and Denmark's Ørsted's diversification, while developing domestic mechanisms like the expanded use of District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) for local job creation.

• India's heavy reliance on coal—providing approximately 45% of primary energy and 70% of electricity generation—makes the country central to global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, though renewables like solar are increasingly outcompeting coal on cost.
• The socio-economic impact of a coal decline would be severe due to the sector's role in revenue and employment; Coal India Limited (CIL) alone accounts for 80% of production, and the sector supports nearly 4 million direct and indirect jobs.
• State governments in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha are particularly vulnerable as they receive over 5% of their revenue from the coal sector, meaning they cannot afford unplanned contractions.
• Coal worker pensions are currently unsustainable because the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization (CMPFO) uses contributions from current workers and companies to pay existing pensions rather than maintaining a savings reserve.
• A just transition must address the deep-seated 'generational identity' of coal workers, who often view themselves as 'coal warriors' essential to the national economy.
• Economic diversification is essential to prevent regional collapse, with suggestions including the diversification of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) like CIL and the use of District Mineral Foundations (DMF) funds to support industries like forestry and tourism.
• Environmental remediation of abandoned mines offers an opportunity for local job creation through the production of building materials from overburden and the development of recreational tourism sites.

APA

Pai, S. (2021). Building Bridges to a Just Transition: Connecting India’s challenges and solutions with international experience. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/building-bridges-just-transition-india-en.pdf

Chicago

Pai, Sandeep. Building Bridges to a Just Transition: Connecting India’s challenges and solutions with international experience. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/building-bridges-just-transition-india-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pai |first1=Sandeep |title=Building Bridges to a Just Transition: Connecting India’s challenges and solutions with international experience |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=June 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/building-bridges-just-transition-india-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pai2021building, author = {Pai, Sandeep}, title = {{Building Bridges to a Just Transition: Connecting India’s challenges and solutions with international experience}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/building-bridges-just-transition-india-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }