62 projects have recently been selected to receive funding from the Just Transition Fund in Hainaut (Wallonia, Belgium). In line with the three themes of Wallonia’s Territorial Just Transition Plan (energy, industry, socio-economic development), these projects focus on a range of initiatives, from hydrogen production facilities and biomethane plants, to support for research on artificial intelligence and robotics. However, to support a just transition, research carried out in Hainaut points to the need to address social and physical infrastructure gaps, in addition to more direct investments for decarbonisation.
A just transition in Hainaut, for who?
In Belgium, three districts in the province of Hainaut (Wallonia) are receiving support from the Just Transition Fund – Charleroi, Mons, and Tournai. The Walloon government, in partnership with its administrative counterpart, the Public Service of Wallonia, and three inter-municipal organisations, has developed a Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) to guide just transition and the use of funding in the province.
The BOLSTER project (Bridging Organizations and marginalized communities for Local Sustainability Transitions in EuRope) aims to understand how marginalised communities are affected by European Green Deal (EGD)-related policies and whether involving them in decision-making processes increases support for transition plans. Marginalised communities are groups that are economically, politically and/or socially disadvantaged compared to other members of society (Young, 2002). To address this question, which underlies the BOLSTER project for Hainaut, we worked with women and youth in Tournai, residents of several disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the Charleroi area, and youth coordinators in the three districts.
Mobility challenges go hand in hand with just transition
Through extensive research in these areas , both through individual interviews and five different focus groups, we have identified a number of priorities for just transition for marginalised communities. Mobility, especially for youth, was one of the most frequently mentioned challenges.
To contextualise the situation, a community coordinator in Charleroi explained how the current public transport network and infrastructure created barriers for youth without cars to access jobs. They described public transport in the city as being organised like a star. A series of nods extend from the city centre outwards to serve outlying villages. For young people without cars, this means that if they need to travel from one peripheral area to another for work, they have to go through the city. This journey can take more than an hour, even if the neighbouring village is only a few kilometres away.
Similar constraints were also mentioned in Mons and Tournai.
In view of this situation, another youth coordinator stressed the importance of improving service to outlying industrial areas. Without a car, these areaswhich serve as employment hubs – remain inaccessible. This highlights a mobility gap, as even when just transition projects create jobs, the benefits may not be accessible to certain groups in society.
A ‘connected’ business park: A soft mobility entry point for a just transition project
In the light of the mobility challenges identified we have identified a good practice’ from the list of 62 selected just transition projects: the creation of the TECHNOPOLE business park in Tournai.
This project is led by an inter-municipal association (IDETA) and a tourism centre, both in Tournai. The total budget for the project (both for the creation of the business park and for the rehabilitation of a derelict workshop) is EUR 23,720,995 , of which, EUR 9,488,398 will come from the Just Transition Fund (40 per cent).
TECHNOPOLE will serve as the flagship of the Mineral Circular Center (MC2)’s flagship venue. MC2 is an emerging ecosystem for the decarbonisation of the earth and stone sector, focusing on topics such as circular economy and recovery processes. A flagship venue will allow concertation of in a single location, to support synergies between companies involved in decarbonisation activities. It is estimated that the creation of the TECHNOPOLE will support 150-200 direct jobs and up to 200 additional indirect jobs1.
What makes this project a best practice in this case is not (only) the innovative promise of this new intellectual and physical ecosystem for decarbonisation. Rather, we highlight that the TECHNOPOLE site will be serviced by a region-wide cycle path, the RAVeL2, and making it easily accessable by bicycle and other forms of soft mobility. It was the only project identified that included this type of mobility element.
Going forward with just transition processes
To advance just transition processes, mobility and other infrastructure (physical or social) are important components that need to be in place to support marginalised communities in society. In addition to projects that consider this broader set of elements, just transition funding can be directed towards these infrastructures. Additional funding can also be directed to micro-organisations at the territorial level that are familiar with the needs of marginalised communities, to better address gaps in current policies.