This report explains how 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) can support a fair and inclusive clean energy transition. It offers a roadmap for businesses to create economic and community benefits, and helps government officials and the public understand how markets can support workers and communities through the shift to a zero-carbon future.
The goal of the just energy transition is to ensure that the people employed by the current fossil fuel energy industry – namely coal, oil, and gas – aren’t left behind in the progression to a clean energy industry. It’s also to take care of the health and financial wellness of the communities that have historically depended on a fossil fuel economy as it is replaced by a new carbon-free economy. Reaching those goals means abiding by the principles of the Just and Inclusive Energy Transition Compact adopted by G20 Energy Ministers in 2024. Those principles emphasize energy security, jobs creation, economic growth, community benefits, and sustainability, particularly for the world’s economically vulnerable societies.
There are several ways that companies’ 24/7 CFE investments can contribute to a just energy transition:
» Using 24/7 CFE results in more diverse energy portfolios, needed to better match the timing of demand
» Lowering system costs by contributing to the balancing and integration of new solar and wind capacity
» Serving as anchor offtakers for next-generation technologies, which eventually reduces their financing costs
» Improving grid resilience by changing the architecture
» Empowering local communities to share in job creation opportunities through the generation of energy supply and demand on the same grid systems they live on
» Increasing tax revenues in those communities through local clean energy investments and deployment
» Creating jobs closer to communities, particularly those of potentially dislocated workers
» Reducing the amount of new fossil fuel resources built and improving air quality for local communities
» Leveraging resources as a coalition builder to better support community stakeholders
Corporate leaders are uniquely positioned to champion the transition to carbon-free electricity. By aligning their 24/7 CFE strategies with just energy transition principles, companies can lead the way in building a clean, reliable, and equitable energy future while achieving economic efficiency and competitive advantage. They can do this without sacrificing workers and communities in the process. In fact, their 24/7 carbon-free energy procurement choices can actually become economically beneficial to the people most directly impacted by the energy transition.