‘We’re at a pivotal point’: Teresa Kramarz argues for a just transition to net zero

Floods, hurricanes, droughts and fires. A dramatic rise in sea levels and melting ice in the Arctic. Forced human migration; the destruction of oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems; the increasing disappearance of plant and animal species.

Climate change’s worst effects are no longer imagined, but very much with us. In 2015, signatories to the landmark Paris Agreement concurred that our best chance at stemming them was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

Because most such emissions arise from the energy sector, the net zero vision includes a call to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind along with energy storage solutions like batteries.

But Teresa Kramarz says that simply trading one palette of energy sources for another is no simple matter. Although it is imperative that we transition to renewable energy, she says, the way in which this transition takes place requires careful public scrutiny. That is because building solar panels, wind turbines and batteries require extensive mining of critical minerals like copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium. This growth in mining has social and environmental consequences — particularly for vulnerable communities and ecosystems from Canada’s northern peatlands to the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Argentina’s salt flats.

Kramarz is an assistant professor at the School of the Environment. Among many other activities, she co-directs the Environmental Governance Lab at the School of the Environment and the Department of Political Science and was recently named co-chair of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Advisory Board for Energy Governance.

One of her concerns is the “displacement effects” caused by the mining of critical minerals used in renewable energy. “The first kind of displacement,” she says, “is the deterioration of ecosystem and people’s health. A second type is dispossession of lands to develop mining projects. Third is the displacement of development, since many countries that depend on the extraction of raw material are also locked into patterns of long-term poverty.”

Kramarz cites the example of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 70 per cent of the world’s cobalt is extracted. “There, the human rights violations and environmental devastation created by this industry is incredible,” she says.

She also urges people to think about what happens to some of the mainstays of renewable energy when they reach the end of their life cycles. For example, discarded smart meters and batteries from electric cars from Europe are ending up in Ghana left to sit in e-waste dumps, causing toxic health effects to the population and local environment.

We’re at a pivotal point in North America to put in place policies that ensure a just and sustainable energy transition. There is no one pathway to net zero. We have choices.

Strong environmental governance is essential to mitigate some of these harms. An expert in the field, Kramarz explains its complicated nature. There are some state regulations with teeth coming out of the European Union that attempt to safeguard human rights and environmental protections by mandating companies to conduct due diligence across their supply chains. However, most of the transnational governance in this space is voluntary.

Many social and environmental aspects of lithium extraction, for example, are in practice self-regulated — meaning companies can decide whether to opt into international responsible mining standards. “So that raises a host of questions. Who makes the decisions of what to account for, to whom are they accountable, and how can they be sanctioned?”

Given how important international institutions are in promoting environmental regulations, Kramarz welcomes her new role with the United Nations. She’s very familiar with the milieu: prior to entering academia, she worked for 10 years as a civil servant with both the World Bank and the UNDP.

Organizations such as the United Nations “have an incredible convening capacity,” she says. “They also have boots on the ground. UNDP in particular has many field and regional offices. That gives them an important advantage in combining research with action that’s very locally informed.”

Do you need to consume as much as you do?

International organizations can play a key role in ensuring a just transition. For example, given that a staggering 770 million people in the world currently lack access to electricity: again, mostly in the Global South, UNDP has pledged to provide clean and affordable energy to 500 million people by 2025. For those in the Global North who do have energy access, a key question is: do you need to consume as much as you do?

“We’re at a pivotal point in North America to put in place policies that ensure a just and sustainable energy transition,” says Kramarz. “There is no one pathway to net zero. We have choices. We can provide tax incentives for a one-to-one switch from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric ones — which is the path we are on — and this will require a lot of mining, or we can build more walkable cities and contain urban sprawl which has many other side benefits. More broadly, we should question if our quality of life is really improved by the incredible material inputs that we demand for our lifestyles. If we make the right decisions, we can lower the impact on the environment and make this a more just transition.”

I don’t worry about young people being sufficiently engaged. I see them doing a lot of the heavy lifting that I wish more established leaders would do.

Though she often tells her students to “put their oar in the water” and get involved both inside and outside the university, Kramarz perceives that they are, in fact, deeply engaged already. “I don’t worry about young people being sufficiently engaged. I see them doing a lot of the heavy lifting that I wish more established leaders would do,” she says.

Net zero, energy access for all, strong regulation of renewable energy and a reduction in overconsumption. With all the difficulties attached to achieving these goals, is Kramarz optimistic?

“The overall message is that we need to avoid sleepwalking through this transition,” she says “And when people ask me whether I’m optimistic or pessimistic, I say: I’m active. And I want others to be active, so that we make the right choices.”