JustRE — Global South Alliance For A Just Transition To Renewable Energy

We joined selected individuals representing Initiative for Social Performance in Renewable Energy (INSPIRE), Responsible Energy Initiative, SEI — Stockholm Environment Institute, and Iniciativa Climática de México at a Book Sprint last June 24 to 28, 2024 in Istanbul, Türkiye! We are thrilled to have been part of helping produce this JustRE Global Alliance’s work on a just transition to renewable energy. Our facilitator Alysa Khouri worked closely with the authors over five days to create a practical, easy-to-read book for practitioners across the Global South. 

Championing A Just Transition

Renewable energy is a rapidly emerging sector, and our partners recognized the value and urgency of transitioning to it in a manner that is “just, inclusive, and equitable.” It was inspiring to learn about all the work that each partner organization in this Global South Alliance has been doing for renewable energy with their own specific focus, contexts, and locales. In the words of the authors themselves: 

“As the transition to renewable energy (RE) increases in pace, the challenge of ensuring that it is just, inclusive, and equitable is becoming increasingly pressing. As organisations working in the Global South, we felt the need to come together to work jointly on this collective objective. […] We envision energy transitions where justice is a core principle of the deployment of renewable energy. Our organisations have a significant track record in our respective regions, and we decided to join efforts to form the Global South Alliance for a Just Transition to Renewable Energy (JustRE). The Alliance champions socially responsible renewable energy implementation with meaningful participation and benefits for communities across the globe. We will collaborate, exchange knowledge, and coordinate strategically to promote a just transition to renewable energy. This book is the first harvest of our collective endeavours.” 

Through this book, the authors hoped for Global South practitioners in the sector of renewable energy to find practical examples and case studies for ensuring a just transition. This meant keeping the text short and easy-to-read, with a focus on authors drawing on their own first-hand experiences with local communities and governments. Experts with lived experiences with the material, such as in this Book Sprint, allow for a rich exploration of how theory can be applied in praxis. Their familiarity with setting up how to phase in a just renewable energy transition made their contributions and insights perfect for the goal of the book. 

The authors pose for a group photo near the water!

Eyes on the target, together

With this new global alliance, the group recognized that it was crucial to build an understanding of each partner’s work and contribution to the book. Our facilitator Alysa actually managed a Day 3 lunch table discussion to do this! With too much writing to be done during the day, she squeezed in a conversation about each partner organization’s activities and strengths. Using methods such as time boxing each contribution to keep the conversation flowing, she was able to facilitate a discussion on possible usability for the global alliance that was formed. 

Some of the authors discussing and writing together in a breakout group.

Beyond just understanding the nature of each others’ work, it was also important to get to know each other and build rapport. As a remote team who has never met before but will be working more intensely together from now on, the authors found the Book Sprint to be a great opportunity to build camaraderie. Day 1 actually kicked off with a getting-to-know activity on the porch, and some days were spent doing morning stretches together on the beach or going for quick swims. It was truly a good balance of work hard, play hard with a location by the beach! 

Some of our authors (and a furry friend!) stretching together by the beach to recharge the mind and spirit after days of writing!

This focus on collaboration for the global alliance made it generally easy for the authors to align on what they wanted to achieve. It was keeping eyes on the target and not shooting for too much that the group needed some help with. On Day 1, the authors worked together to set up a chapter structure to identify the topics they wanted to cover. As the days of writing went on, the group realized that they needed to outsource some of the expertise to write about some topics – leading to spending much time looking up information, fact checking, and consulting with others to ensure the information is correct. With topics as big, complex, and valuable as renewable energy, there can be a temptation to tackle more than the group is able to. It was important for our facilitator to remind the authors to set the right focus, and to not get lost in too many questions they don’t have the answer to. These are some of the advantages of the Book Sprint method for collaborative writing: your goal is clear and set at the beginning, and a facilitator is present to help ensure you stay on track. 

Announcing JustRE

We are honored to have been part of the first few steps of JustRE’s journey as a global alliance. The Alliance plans to disseminate the book over different channels soon – so keep an eye out for updates on when the book will be published! We continue to support the partners in their endeavors to ensure a just renewable energy transition. 

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