This information and much of the phrasing can be directly attributed to work done by The Movement Generation Justice & Ecology Project. They are an organization rooted in social movements led by low-income communities and communities of color committed to a Just Transition away from profit and pollution and towards healthy, resilient and life-affirming local economies.

 

The Just Transition is a framework for a fair shift to an economy that is ecologically sustainable, equitable and just for all its members. They assert that, “an economy based on extracting from

a finite system faster than the capacity of the system to regenerate will eventually come to an end—either through collapse or through our intentional re-organization. Transition is inevitable. Justice is not.”

 

Just Transition strategies were first forged by labor unions and environmental justice groups who saw the need to phase out the industries that were harming workers, community health and the planet, while also providing just pathways for workers into new livelihoods. It encompasses a set of strategies that will guide whole communities toward thriving economies that provide dignified, productive and ecologically sustainable livelihoods that are governed directly by workers and communities.

 

Just Transition is based on a framing that examines five pillars of the economy, which allows us to interrogate the morality and purpose of each in order to shape a more just economy. At the heart of the economy is a set of relationships; we take natural resources, and with human work, we work towards some purpose. These three pillars are influenced and managed by culture, or worldview, which makes sense of the economy and sets the limits of what is acceptable and what is not. Governance aims to organize and facilitate the smooth functioning of the economy towards its purpose.

 

Currently, we primarily operate an “extractive economy”. The ultimate purpose of this economy is identified as the enclosure and accumulation of wealth and power and it operates upon an assumption of inherent self-interest and the value of privatization. In order to satisfy this purpose, each pillar of the economy is arranged in ways that streamline this accumulation. As such, natural resources are extracted tirelessly, at any expense. Work, as in human labor, is coercive, undervalued, exploitative, and divorce from morality. Our culture is one that promotes “life without limits” – expansive consumerism, infinite growth, and radical individualism guised in the rhetoric of freedom. Moral values are systematically overlooked in pursuit of the primary purpose of the economy, and an acceptance of white supremacy and hetero-patriarchy permit harm and violence to come to certain people without direct blame or guilt. Common governance structures that support this economy utilize militarism and systematic violence in addition to legal enclosure of commonly held lands, resources, information, and labor. We are placated with an impression of democracy that gives us permission to partially choose between predetermined and limited options. Typically, we are not even given that level of consideration when our government takes action.

 

In many ways, Appalachian State also operates within this extractive economy. As we see the University continually prioritizing economic and enrollment growth over the wellbeing of students, faculty, staff, and the community in a myriad of ways, it becomes clear that the primary purpose of our institution is not based upon public wellbeing or the sustainability of our planet. As such, the natural resources we use and the labor involved in its production – whether that be energy, food, or knowledge – function in a way that fails to responsibly care for people and the places we live. In a system where economic interests are prioritized, the underlying logic of extractivism permits the purchasing of fossil fuels and meat produced in CAFOs, and encourages the undervaluation of the labor of university employees. 

 

We can also see signs of this extractive economy by examining ASU’s governance structure, which is entirely undemocratic and often unconcerned with education and public wellbeing. The major governing bodies of ASU, such as the Board of Trustees, UNC Board of Governors, and UNC presidents are appointed officials who lack any direct accountability, fail to listen to public input, and are primarily composed of white businessmen. As a result, the needs and voices of student groups, faculty members, staff, and community members lack real power and are systematically ignored – even when they go through the available channels that appear to be democratic. These non-democratic dynamics are bolstered by the logic of an extractive economy; apparently neutral and rational practices like cost-benefit analysis, purchasing rules, and the application of a “rational economic calculus” take precedence over community needs and input. The product of this relationship is further harm and exploitation of what we all care for.

 

The Just Transition Framework offers another way of organizing our world. According to the principles of a Just Transition, the ultimate purpose of our economy can and should be ecological and social wellbeing. In order to achieve this goal, we must confront our natural resources with the intent of ecological restoration, by using our labor to preserve and promote bio-cultural diversity. And with the threats of climate change looming, we must create community resilience, so that our society may continue to maintain themselves and their ecosystems. To achieve this, social equity must be recognized as an interconnected piece of ecological wellbeing, and preserved as such.

 

To achieve such a vision, we must regenerate our resources by engaging with them at a scale and pace that is aligned with living systems. Zero-waste, interdependence, dynamic balance, nested cycles and patterns, and bio-cultural diversity are all qualities of this engagement. Additionally, our work must be reorganized in such a way that it is centered around democratic and voluntary cooperation rather than coercion and exploitation. This also comes with the awareness that so much work occurs outside of our jobs; it occurs in our work and care for children and family, our community, and ourselves. A Just Transition can only be carried out with a shift in culture towards one based on relationships to each other and the world upon

which we depend. A culture where love, humility and mystery guide us instead of avarice, entitlement, and arrogance. Finally, for the smooth functioning of a just economy, we must pursue the governance of “deep democracy”, wherein people are in control of the decisions that affect their daily lives; from where they work to how they collectively manage shared resources across scales.

 

Applying a Just Transition framework to the university thus means reducing our participation in the extractive economy, increasing our participation in and construction of a regenerative economy, and changing the rules to permit more active, democratic, and inclusive governance. 

Understanding this establishes the argument for Appalachian to fully commit to a systemic and justice-oriented approach to climate action. “Simple neutrality” that eliminates carbon emissions may appear on paper to address the climate crisis, but if the systems of extraction and domination that have allowed this crisis to originate and to perpetuate remain, it is a false solution. The five pillars of an extractive economy mutually reinforce each other to permit ecological and social devastation. If there were social equity, it would be impossible to excuse sacrifice zones and consider some communities or environments disposable. If diversity and ecological restoration were valued, resource extraction and environmental manipulation for efficient exploitation would be inconceivable. Without addressing each of these five pillars in climate action, we run the likely risk of replicating the injustices of an extractive economy while pursuing neutrality, which would lead us to renewed crisis. By considering the principles of a Just Transition and addressing climate change holistically, we can achieve synergistic and positive effects to prevent the exacerbation of the crisis, building systems that are more resilient to future crises, and also work towards healing past injustices by addressing the roots of the issue.

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Biodiversity Must Not Be Ignored

 

One clear example of the holistic impacts of climate change and the related extractive economy is the effect on biodiversity. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services reported that “around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history,” (2019). They cite climate change as one of the top causes of this extinction threat, along with land and sea use change, direct exploitation, pollution, and invasive alien species (ibid.). This is ecologically devastating because healthy biodiversity is crucial to the wellbeing of our planet and society. The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment asserts that biodiversity plays a critical role in providing ecosystem services, which are the ecological processes and functions that sustain and improve human well-being with direct economic, psychological, biological, and material benefits (Scherr & McNeely 2007). Furthermore, healthy biodiversity aids in ecosystem resilience, or an ecosystem’s ability to overcome stresses and crises. In the context of our climate crisis, considering that current projections position us to be far from reaching the required emissions reductions in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, resilience is more important than ever because we are projected to experience increasingly severe ecosystem disruptions (IPCC 2018). Yet in order to support healthy biodiversity, ecosystem function, cohesion, and continuity must be prioritized; in other words, the system as a whole must be kept healthy in order to support life. 

 

The significance of biodiversity forces us to remember the holistic nature of our ecosystems, and again reiterates why “simple neutrality” is inappropriate. The current five pillars of an extractive economy are incapable of maintaining the kind of holistic health that is needed because of the tendency to externalize, extract, homogenize, consume, pollute, and grow beyond limits. The IPBES recognizes that great change is necessary to conserve biodiversity. 

 

Global goals for conserving and sustainably using nature and achieving sustainability cannot be met by current trajectories, and goals for 2030 and beyond may only be achieved through transformative changes across economic, social, political and technological factors (IPBES 2019, bold original).

 

In accordance with this call for transformative change, Appalachian State must go beyond “simple neutrality” in order to address the holistic health of our surrounding environments, both for the inherent value of the environments and because our lives depend on functioning ecosystems with healthy biodiversity. This call is accentuated because of the rich biodiversity of the region Appalachian State calls home. The Blue Ridge Mountains contain the highest number of federally listed and proposed threatened and endangered terrestrial species in the Southern Appalachian region (MEA 2005). 

 

ASU as an Anchor Institution

The implications of a Just Transition at Appalachian is not just about those directly involved in the University. By recognizing the incredible economic, social, and political influence that Appalachian influences has on the region, we see that the University can be a driver of positive change in the High Country community and beyond. Anchor institutions are large organizations, such as Appalachian State, that are one of the largest employers and purchasers of goods and services in the region and have assets and capacities that can be leveraged to support reciprocal community development, including local hiring, procurement, and investment practices. Anchor institutions employ strategies that involve the entire university, including the business, community partnership, administrative, research and academic divisions. By doing so, they also create an environment and community that is also conducive to attracting students, faculty, and staff as well as develop students that are responsible and participatory citizens in society. When we frame Appalachian as a potential “anchor institution”, we can truly acknowledge this transformative potential and plan for optimal community impact and involvement. 

 

Appalachian State’s 2019 financial statements detail that in 2019, the University spent:

• $49,428,782 on supplies and materials

• $56,001,162 on services

• $11,002,096 on utilities

 

Imagine if even a fraction of this funding was directed in a way that benefited the well-being of our community, supported marginalized people, and was invested in a just and sustainable future. Even beyond finances, the incredible amount of student and faculty labor in the form of research can be an incredible aid to the community when direct. Additionally, university programs and services have the potential to serve communities in significant ways as well. 

 

Duke University raised $12 million to invest in affordable housing in local neighborhoods, community health centers, and an after-school program for at-risk students in local public schools. Colgate university has provided $630,000 in funding to foster small business development, support local artists, and improve the business district of their hometown. Penn States Center for Community Partnerships, MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development, USC’s Center for Diversity and Democracy, and Portland State’s Center for Economic and Community Development are all dedicated programs funded, organized and supported by the university that are specifically geared towards supporting the community. These programs work with community members to build local wealth and equity through research that can be applied to the community, technical assistance for non-profits, strategic planning facilitation, mapping, financing, and relationship building (Community Wealth n.d.)

 

In the following section, we outline several opportunities for ASU to work towards a Just Transition and embody their role as an Anchor Institution.