Adam Mayer

The U.S. energy system is undergoing a rapid transition that holds enormous potential to reduce green-house gas emissions emitted by this sector, primarily by reducing coal combustion. Currently wind and solar power are less expensive than coal in areas like the Mountain West region. Further, the marked increase in the production of natural gas in the U.S. has rendered coal economically unattractive, leading to dozens of mine and power plant closures in recent years and a dismal future projected for the industry. Although coal combustion is undoubtedly a major driver of global climate change and associated global injustices, the collapse of the coal sector also engenders several complex questions of justice in climate change adaptation. In particular, the rapid demise of the coal sector may lead already-struggling rural regions of the U.S. to intensified economic stagnation. Prevailing discourses often focus on job losses yet coal provides significant tax revenue to provide essential public services to vulnerable populations.

 

In this project, we integrate research on internal colonization, rural marginality and the burgeoning literature on just transitions to conceptualize climate justice in the context of coal transitions in rural America. Empirically, we rely on data from interviews from rural Colorado to flesh out the complex and idiosyncratic dimensions of climate justice for communities dependent upon extractive industries.