The concept of a just transition — rooted in the visionary work of labor movements and trade unions — has long called for a shift to sustainable economies that center the rights, needs, and dignity of workers. As this call gains traction in global climate policy, it is more urgent than ever to ensure that justice in transition reaches beyond employment, energy, and industry — to confront the deeper systems of inequality that shape whose labor is valued, whose lives are protected, and whose voices are heard.
Through interviews with activists, researchers, and community leaders, the Critical Conversations series explores critical themes — such as care work, extractivism, petro-masculinity, green colonialism, and consent — that are often sidelined in mainstream transition discourse.
Each conversation focuses on one dimension of a gender-just transition, surfacing insights from those on the frontlines of climate and social justice struggles. These are not academic debates or institutional roundtables — but informal, thought-provoking reflections that ask: What does a truly gender-just transition look like? Who defines it? And how do we get there together, without leaving anyone behind?
The series builds on WEDO’s broader advocacy tools, reports, and convenings, and echoes the spirit of our #OurSolutions blog — accessible, grounded, and movement-oriented. Critical Conversations honors the legacy of just transition as a worker-centered demand, while offering a feminist framework that expands the vision of what is possible.
Because climate transitions are not only about decarbonization — they are about reimagining power, redistributing resources, and reshaping the future with care, consent, and collective liberation at the center.
CONVERSATIONS
Critical Minerals: Extracting Injustice from “Clean” Energy w/ Mela Chiponda
Melania Chiponda, a human rights defender and energy justice advocate based in Harare, Zimbabwe, has worked for decades challenging exploitative mining projects and their impacts on communities. She is currently the Director of the SHINE Collab, which works at the intersection of gender and energy justice to create community-driven, renewable, just energy solutions. As a leader in the feminist energy space, she has consistently raised her voice around the issue of critical minerals and human rights as part of just transition conversations.
Read transcribed highlights of the interview.
Petro-Masculinity: Unpacking Power in Gender and Energy with Cara Daggett
Focusing on the politics of gender and energy, Dr. Cara Daggett popularized a term called “petro-masculinity,” weaving together analysis of fossil fuel exploitation, white supremacy, and gender injustice to help explain the rise of authoritarian leaders and their reliance on anti-gender and pro-fossil fuel narratives.
