JUST ENERGY TRANSITION

A just energy transition is the shift from an energy system based on fossil fuels to one based on clean, renewable and accessible energy, carried out in a way that protects workers, communities and ecosystems, and that brings energy to those who still lack it. “Just” means that the transition must not only change the source of energy but also who benefits, who bears the costs, and who participates in the decisions. It is the way integral ecology asks that the end of the fossil fuel era does not leave the poor behind, nor repeat the extraction and exclusion of the past.

WHAT IT MEANS

• Leaving behind coal, oil and gas, as the Church has asked for some time: technologies based on fossil fuels “need to be progressively replaced without delay” (LS 165).

• Making sure that no one is left behind: workers and communities that depend on fossil fuel industries need decent work, retraining, social protection and a voice in planning their future.
• Ensuring access to clean and affordable energy for the many who still lack electricity or cannot afford it: energy as a condition for dignity, health, education and livelihoods, and not a privilege.
• Watching out for the hidden costs of the transition: mining of lithium, cobalt, copper and other critical minerals can damage the lands and rights of indigenous and rural communities, and turn them into new “sacrifice zones” if not governed by free, prior and informed consent and strict standards.
• Preferring models that give power to communities: community-owned renewable energy, local participation and public benefit, rather than large projects imposed from outside; and questioning “false solutions” that perpetuate the same logic of profit and domination.

WHY THIS MATTERS

• Energy production and use are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming has already passed 1.5 °C as a three-year average, and meeting the Paris goals requires a rapid exit from fossil fuels.
• The politics are difficult: COP30 in Belém (2025) agreed to set up the first global just transition mechanism, to coordinate support, rights and participation, but did not agree on a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels. A first group of countries met in Santa Marta (Colombia) in April 2026 to advance a transition beyond fossil fuels, and COP31 in Türkiye in November 2026 will be the next test.
• Demand for critical minerals is growing fast, and indigenous territories hold more than half of the mineral resources needed for clean energy. Without safeguards, a “green” transition could multiply conflicts, displacement and violence against defenders, as the sheets on extractivism and martyrs of creation show.
• Pope Leo XIV calls us to move “from environmental discourse to an ecological conversion” that changes personal and communal lifestyles; and energy is among the most concrete areas where this conversion becomes visible.

WHY IT CONCERNS RELIGIOUS LIFE

• We are energy users and managers on a significant scale: schools, hospitals, parishes, convents, retreat houses, farms and offices. Our choices on energy sources, efficiency and investments are a visible, credible and measurable form of ecological conversion.
• Our financial resources, in many cases, are invested in markets that include fossil fuels. Several Religious Congregations around the world have already decided to divest from coal, oil and gas and to reinvest in renewable energy, as a way of living the vow of poverty and of putting resources at the service of the common good.
• We live among people who suffer both the effects of the old energy system (pollution, climate disasters, mining accidents) and its absence (no electricity, high costs). We are in a position to listen to them and to ensure that the transition is for them and with them.
• We often accompany workers, miners, farmers and indigenous communities affected by extractive projects, including those linked to the transition. Our presence can help defend their rights and strengthen their organization.
• The evangelical counsels are an alternative to the logic that drives energy overuse: sobriety, sharing, attention to the poor, and trust in Providence, which make it possible to live with less and to prioritize what is essential for everyone.

A GOSPEL CALL TODAY

“You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). In a world of energy inequality, light, warmth and power are not only technical goods: they are conditions for a dignified life, and the Gospel asks that they be shared justly. As Religious, we are invited to a conversion that touches our buildings, our budgets and our investments, so that our communities become places where the energy of the Spirit, and not the logic of extraction, is what guides us. A just energy transition is a concrete way to make our communities signs of hope, fraternity and sobriety, alongside those who are most affected.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCERNMENT

• What energy do our houses, schools, hospitals and works use, where does it come from, and what would a realistic plan to move to clean and efficient energy look like for us?
• Are our investments consistent with our values? Are we ready to divest from fossil fuels and to reinvest in solutions that benefit the common good?
• Who in our area suffers from lack of energy or from the effects of fossil fuel or mining projects, and how can we accompany them?
• How can our charism and our networks help ensure that the transition respects workers, indigenous peoples and the earth, and does not create new victims?

REMEMBER:

“We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels – especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas – needs to be progressively replaced without delay.” (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 165)

KEY REFERENCES

• Francis (2015) Laudato Si’ (esp. nos. 23–26 and 165–172).

• Francis (2023) Laudate Deum.
• Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (2025) “Catholic Approaches to Mining” (link)
• International Labour Organization (2015) Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all.
• Climate Change News (2025) “How Belém launched the Just Transition mechanism” (link)
• Jesuits for Climate Justice Campaign (2026) Statement and Policy Brief for COP31 (link)

KEY RESOURCES

• Iglesias y Minería – Churches and Mining Network (iglesiasymineria.org) – accompanying communities affected by mining
• Laudato Si’ Movement (laudatosimovement.org) – including divest-reinvest and renewable energy campaigns
• Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative (fossilfueltreaty.org) – research, options papers and endorsement forms, including for faith institutions
• Laudato Si’ Action Platform (laudatosiactionplatform.org)
• Philippine Movement for Climate Justice and Radio Veritas Asia – “Light for Our Common Home”, project for Catholic-led renewable energy transition plans in Asia Pacific (article)

ORIENTATION TO ENGAGEMENT

Each Congregation will define its path according to its charism, resources and context. Four attitudes can help:

1. Start from what we already do. Existing works, buildings and projects are the natural place to begin, and small steps are meaningful if they are consistent.

1. Combine technical competence and discernment. Seek expert advice on energy efficiency and renewable options, while keeping the criteria of justice, sobriety and the common good at the centre.
2. Look beyond our own walls. A just transition is not only about our own emissions: it also concerns energy poverty, workers and the communities affected by mining and energy projects.
3. Work with others. Share experience with other Congregations, parishes, dioceses and local organizations; community-based solutions are stronger when built together.

RECOMMENDED INITIATIVE

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a global campaign calling on governments to negotiate a binding international treaty, to complement the Paris Agreement, to phase out coal, oil and gas “fair, fast and forever”. It is based on three pillars: ending the expansion of new fossil fuel production (non-proliferation); phasing out existing production in a way that is fair and equitable, according to the responsibilities and capacities of each country; and supporting workers, communities and countries in a peaceful and just transition to renewable energy.

The proposal has been endorsed by a growing coalition: more than 25 countries have taken part in discussions on the Treaty, especially vulnerable Pacific and Caribbean island states, together with 199 cities and subnational governments, over 4,000 organizations, institutions and businesses, and more than one million individuals, including health professionals, youth, Indigenous leaders and social justice advocates. Its supporters include the World Health Organization and the European Parliament. In April 2026 Colombia and the Netherlands hosted in Santa Marta the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, an important step toward a negotiating mandate.

For Religious communities, the Initiative offers a concrete way of turning the call for a just transition into prophetic advocacy: the website includes a specific form to endorse the Treaty proposal as a faith institution or leader, and Congregations can also sign as organizations, share the call with their works and networks, and study its research and options papers in community. It is a way to join our voice with those of the island peoples and the communities most threatened, and to ask that the end of the fossil fuel era be decided and managed justly, with attention to workers and countries that depend on it. More at fossilfueltreaty.org.