Just Transition

The phrase ‘just transition’ often refers simply to re-skilling workers for zero-carbon jobs. But the LSDC is looking more holistically at what the ‘just transition’ will mean for Londoners.

The Mayor’s ambitious goal for London to be net zero carbon by 2030 isn’t just about cutting CO₂ emissions: it’s about creating a better city for Londoners. It means making homes efficient and warm, tackling fuel poverty and the cost-of-living crisis. It means making neighbourhoods more liveable and walkable, with vibrant local high streets and less traffic pollution, reducing health inequalities. It means good, green jobs with decent wages and conditions.

But in order to achieve a fair transition to the zero-carbon economy, we need to understand how communities will be impacted differently, and support the most vulnerable. We need to equip our leaders within local government, the public and private sectors, and communities, to make good decisions and plans, informed by ‘just transition’ principles and community input.

2 million homes in London must be upgraded (‘retrofitted’) by 2030 to become more energy-efficient, in order to keep warm in winter and cool in summer. This will unlock huge benefits, reducing residents’ energy bills, making their homes healthier and more comfortable, and helping tackle the climate emergency.

But although 89% of Londoners are motivated to act on climate change, households and communities have diverse needs, experiences and aspirations when it comes to putting this into practice. Retrofit means entering people’s homes, their personal space. Residents need to be engaged on what retrofit means for them, and supported on the journey from awareness through to retrofit installation and beyond.

These factors are particularly significant for households that include those with protected characteristics. Therefore, to boost the uptake of retrofit schemes, we need an approach that supports households’ specific needs and circumstances.

The LSDC, in partnership with the Young Foundation, has published guidance for retrofit delivery bodies to make retrofits more inclusive and accessible for all Londoners.

• We have published a Final Report with recommendations for the national, regional and local government, and the companies who install retrofits.
• We have also produced a Toolkit with practical suggestions to deliver better community engagement on retrofits.

The evidence base for Report and Toolkit includes interviews with over 100 participants. We trained 10 ordinary Londoners as ‘peer researchers’ to interview community members about their perception of retrofits, giving unique, nuanced insight to Londoners’ lived experiences. We also interviewed many professionals to bring their perspectives on retrofit policy, funding and delivery.  

Our Interim Report (January 2025) presented our research findings at the halfway stage of the project. It highlighted residents’ insights into how retrofit services could be made more accessible. It also presented the reflections of retrofit sector professionals, who we interviewed about the challenges and opportunities for creating greener homes.