Sensitizing just transition in Taiwan

The concept of ‘just transition’ has gained prominence in global climate governance, including its integration into national climate policies. This paper examines Taiwan’s just transition policies since 2015, focusing on the government’s efforts to embed the concept in its climate strategies. Taiwan’s reliance on imported energy and its developmental state model provide a unique context for understanding the adaptation of just transition principles. Rather than offering a fixed definition, this paper views ‘just transition’ as a ‘sensitizing concept,’ providing flexible guidance for addressing climate-related social and economic challenges. Taiwan’s engagement with just transition gained momentum following global decarbonization trends, with the government officially adopting it as a key strategy in 2022 and incorporating it into the 2023 Climate Change Response Act. The paper highlights the evolution of Taiwan’s policy approach, showing how just transition has helped identify and mitigate potential negative impacts, such as labour market disruptions and regional inequalities. However, inconsistencies remain across government agencies, and the top-down nature of implementation has weakened local engagement and overlooked transnational dimensions. This paper argues for more robust stakeholder consultations and a deeper understanding of global supply chain impacts on just transition. Taiwan’s experience offers valuable insights for global just transition policymaking, emphasizing the importance of context-specific strategies and the need for continuous adaptation.Taiwan includes just transition in its net-zero transition strategy and the Climate Change Response Act to establish a more holistic framework.Just transition helps foreground labour rights in Taiwan’s climate policymaking.As a developmental state, Taiwan’s typical top-down nature of policy implementation led to ambiguous interpretations of just transition and weaker public consultation.Policy stakeholders hold diverse and often conflicting views on just transition, reflecting their distinct priorities.The just transition policy in Taiwan sensitizes stakeholders to social inequalities in climate actions, including labour issues, land use conflicts, and energy poverty.