Learning from experience: New international network launches to support regional transition

The Net Zero Economy Authority (NZEA) and Scotland's Just Transition Commission (JTC) have announced the formation of the International Just Transition Network (IJTN). 

The IJTN supports NZEA to build links with international organisations with first-hand experience managing transitions in major industrial and energy-producing regions.

Established as a voluntary, member-led network, the IJTN brings together 9 national and sub-national organisations. These organisations advise on, scrutinise or implement policies consistent with a just transition.

Activities focus on sharing direct on-the-ground experience. This helps members from around the world learn from each other via practical and technical exchange and peer-to-peer support.

There are communities that have already experienced things Australian communities are only beginning to encounter. If we can take what has been learned in one community and put it to work in another, then this network will have done something genuinely useful
– David Shankey, Chief Executive Officer, Net Zero Economy Authority

Scottish JTC Co-Chairs Satwat Rehman and Dave Reay said, 

We hope this timely new initiative will model international collaboration on addressing mission-critical social and economic blockers to emissions reduction and climate resilience. 

The network is already strengthening our understanding of how to tackle key challenges in Scotland. It will provide practical support for other jurisdictions to put robust governance mechanisms in place to apply just transition principles in local contexts.

The inaugural meetings of the IJTN took place in March and July 2026, with the next meeting scheduled for October.

How international experience can support our priority regions in Australia

For NZEA, the network provides valuable opportunities to learn from members working in regions facing similar challenges to Australia's industrial and energy-producing communities.

Examples include:

• The Hunter (New South Wales) and Aberdeen, Scotland: Both are major fossil fuel-exporting regions working to diversify their economies, support workers and communities, and leverage existing energy-sector skills to grow new energy industries.
   
• Collie (Western Australia) and Antofagasta, Chile: Both regions are transitioning with the retirement of coal-fired generation and exploring opportunities to repurpose existing energy infrastructure for new technologies.
   
• Central Queensland and Alberta, Canada: Both are major energy-producing regions seeking to balance emissions reduction objectives with support for workers, local economies and emerging industries.
   
• Latrobe-Gippsland (Victoria) and Komati in South Africa: Both regions are focused on supporting workers and communities through skills development, economic diversification and coordinated government action as they manage the transition to a net zero economy.

Global networking for local impact 

The network is currently comprised of members from around the world, including:

• Australia's Net Zero Economy Authority
• Scotland's Just Transition Commission
• Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council
• Chile’s Advisory Council for a Just Socio-Ecological Transition
• Nigeria’s National Council on Climate Change
• Ireland’s Just Transition Commission
• South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission 
• Taiwan’s Net-Zero Just Transition Committee 
• Wales’ Local Government, Housing, Rural Resilience and Sustainability Department. 

Supporting a fair and orderly transition

Through the IJTN, members can share practical knowledge, exchange lessons learned and strengthen collaboration across jurisdictions working towards similar goals. 

Moustapha Kamal Gueye, Director of the Priority Action Programme on Just Transitions Towards Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said, 

The ILO welcomes the establishment of the International Just Transition Network as a living testimony of the uptake by representatives of governments and other stakeholders of the International Labour Organisation’s Guidelines for a Just Transition as a solid reference for policy making and a basis for action. The network brings an action-focused complementary platform to foster international collaboration.

By working with international partners, NZEA is helping Australia draw on global experience to support workers, communities and regions as our energy systems change. 

To support the continued operation and development of the network, an invite for organisations interested in hosting the IJTN Secretariat will be released soon.

If you’d like to learn more or join the IJTN, please email the below contacts.

In the UK: justtransitioncommission@gov.scot

In Australia: internationalengagement@nzea.gov.au

Quotes from IJTN members

Kao Shien-Quey, Convener, Taiwan Net-Zero Just Transition Committee, Deputy Minister, National Development Council:

'The Taiwan Net-Zero Just Transition Committee is pleased to join the launch of the International Just Transition Network and its core values. We remain committed to translating shared knowledge, evidence-based research, and lived experiences into practical progress while upholding the principle of leaving no one behind. Looking ahead, we welcome the opportunity to join hands with global partners to gradually build inclusive, equitable, and regionally balanced pathways for all.'

Lionel Railton, Co-chair of Canada's Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council:

'International cooperation and social dialogue are essential to ensuring that the transition to a net-zero economy creates sustainable jobs and meaningful opportunities for workers, communities and regions in Canada and across the world. Through the International Just Transition Network, we can share practical experience, strengthen the evidence and advice that informs our work at the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council, and learn from partners worldwide as we seek to ensure that workers and communities are well positioned to benefit from the opportunities of economic transition.'

Ali Sheridan, Chair, Just Transition Commission of Ireland:

'We warmly welcome the launch of the International Just Transition Network and are encouraged to see the growing number of countries embracing a just transition approach as they respond to the challenges and opportunities of the transition. As a relatively new commission, we know Ireland has much to learn, but also valuable experience to share, and we look forward to working with partners across the network to strengthen how we deliver a fair and inclusive transition in practice.'