COP28: A "just transition" should prioritise rural Australia

In a first for COP summits, achieving a “just transition” will be firmly and formally on the agenda. The concept – widely used by governments, international bodies and activists – is that no one should be “left behind” in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Whether its floods or droughts or bushfires, rural communities have been bearing the brunt of climate change.
At the same time, they are being asked to be at the forefront of climate solutions, by hosting wind farms, solar farms and transmission lines that are critical to more sustainable energy systems. Reg Kidd, the Chair of the NSW Farmers Association Energy Transition Working Group, recently said that farming families are bearing the cost of securing the state’s electricity supply.

GHD’s SHOCKED report found that 65 percent of Australian energy leaders said community opposition is one of the largest obstacles to getting new projects approved. 

A just transition requires rural communities to be at the leading edge of decision-making, not at the receiving end.
Regional Australian towns have immense potential to become thriving green energy hubs in the 21st century. The energy transition towards a low-carbon future presents a unique opportunity, and this will not be possible without broadscale community support.

If a “just transition” is to be more than a noble ambition we need to develop more meaningful ways of engaging with communities in rural and regional areas. Rural leaders should be in the room when decisions are made. A project’s planning and design decisions should involve substantial input from the community, so that the positive impacts are maximised and local concerns addressed.

On the other hand, “regulatory fatigue” also known as “consultation fatigue” is real and can easily set in if the demands on community members for input are too intense or if the consultation is for consultation’s sake. The cumulative impact of uncoordinated consultation for multiple projects in the same region can be particularly overwhelming.

While the energy transition will no doubt create benefits for generations to come, are there tangible and immediate benefits these communities can be offered here and now, such as discounted electricity costs? These, together with the sustained injection of funding into the local economy from the projects themselves, can go a long way towards offsetting any negative impacts.

Many communities do want to do their part in the energy transition – they just want to be part of the conversation, even if their views are not always agreed with.

To assist project proponents in this area, the Australian Energy Regulator has recently issued a directions paper on social licence for electricity projects, and will be developing more detailed guidance for industry during 2024. Additionally, the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner is leading the Community Engagement Review into renewable energy infrastructure projects.

We acknowledge the challenges of getting community engagement right. Fostering genuine consultation, transparency and trust can be just as complex as the technical and economic questions that dominate the energy discussion. 

Rural communities should also be assured that there are many people in the city whose hearts remain firmly in the bush. We are consultants, engineers, lawyers and bankers who wear our RM Williams with pride. Wherever we can, we use our influence to advocate for everyone living in regional and rural communities, and make their issues more visible in the boardrooms of capital cities.

Regional communities across Australia have been at the heart of our nation’s prosperity, whether in agriculture or in mining. The global energy transition is a chance for regions to continue to prosper in the 21st century.

Translated into Australian, a “just transition” would be a “fair go”.