WHAT IS THE JUST TRANSITION? AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH FOOD?
The imperative to change the way people live and work to a sustainable low-carbon economy is well known and indisputable.
Human beings simply won’t have the resources to exist healthily if we do not transform to a greener, cleaner economy. The just transition calls for this change to take place in a way that is equitable and inclusive for everyone involved; to ensure the costs and benefits are fairly distributed and to leave no one behind.
Veris identifies the elements of a just food system as climate positive, food safety, food security, fair livelihoods and resilient communities. These elements are relevant at every stage of the food system, and each element has at least one lever that can be activated to broaden and/or speed change.
DECODING: THE JUST TRANSITION
At Veris, we recognise that these levers share a common set of principles, which we call the ACTION principles: accountability – collaboration – transparency – inclusion – objective setting – nature-led.
For example, we can accelerate climate-positive (element) by looking at soil health, air quality and zero waste (levers). To improve soil health, we need to consider who can make the change (accountability), who can we work with to reach the goal faster (collaboration), how will activity and progress be reported (transparency), are we listening to voices such as farmers, communities, developers and utility companies (inclusion), are we clear about our goals and milestones (objective setting), and are natural processes, such as ‘no tillage’ being prioritised (nature-led)?
Applying the ACTION principles ensures that we maintain focus on fair and equitable goals.
ACTION for a JUST TRANSITION in the food system - Powered by Veris Strategies
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