Deliberative research to inform Just Transition Sector Plans

Tender description

This project has two key aims. The first aim is to uncover informed, considered and collective public opinion on the fair distribution of costs and benefits in the transition to net zero emissions in three key sectors: Transport, Land Use and Agriculture, and Buildings and Construction. The second aim is to gather learning into the factors influencing any changes in participants’ attitudes, beliefs or values as a result of engaging in this deliberative process. The concept of ‘fairness’ is fundamental to delivering a just transition. However, determining what ‘fair’ means in practice, particularly when seeking to deliver a fair distribution of costs and benefits from the transition (i.e. distributive justice), raises complex moral and ethical questions. The Scottish Government has also committed to producing bespoke Just Transition Plans for four high-emitting sectors: Energy, Transport, Land and Agriculture, and Buildings and Construction. The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan was published for consultation in January 2023 . The other three sector plans are currently in development. ClimateXChange wishes to commission deliberative research to inform the design and delivery of these outstanding Plans. It is expected that the project will provide ministers and officials with a more evidence-based understanding of public views on the fairest approach to distributional justice within the three forthcoming sector plans, providing specific insight into key questions around who should pay for the transition. It will also seek to identify the extent to which opinion shifts take place before and after the deliberation, to better understand how and why information and discussion may influence public opinion on what is, and is not, fair within the context of a just transition for Scotland.