Beyond the numbers: How green transitions can prioritise rural communities to ensure a more just transition

Abstract

The green transition positions the Nordic rural areas as central resources for energy production, yet its top-down nature risks alienating rural communities, growing a sense of powerlessness. Extracting certain benefits from green transitions is not enough to ensure fairness; it is vital to examine which local benefits are connected to which experiences justness. The current just transition frameworks often emphasize quantifiable benefits, such as job creation and tax revenues, over more complex aspects of justice relevant to diverse social groups. This article examines which dimensions of just transitions translate effectively into local land-use negotiations, and which are at risk of being overlooked.

The empirical focus is on case studies of wind park developments in two regions of Finland and studies what types of local benefits foster community acceptance of these developments, and how they impact perceptions of justice. The results uncover disparities in how different aspects of justice are implemented and argue that while procedural and distributive justice measures are more readily translated into policy actions, aspects like recognitional and restorative justice risk falling to the wayside. Ultimately, this article highlights the need for long-term community building over purely economic metrics to reach the Nordic climate goals in an inclusive way.