Energy and Climate Building democratic and just responses to the climate crisis

Research and analysis on the political, economic and social struggles shaping the global energy transition.

The transition away from fossil fuels is transforming energy systems, industrial strategies, global supply chains and demand for land and raw materials. But replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy does not in itself address the inequalities and concentrations of power that underpin the climate crisis.

TNI’s Energy and Climate work looks beyond narrow questions of technology and emissions to examine the political economy of the transition: who owns energy systems, who controls natural resources, how investment decisions are made, and whose interests shape climate and industrial policy. We pay particular attention to the consequences for countries and communities in the Global South and to alternatives emerging from workers, communities and public institutions.

TNI researches the power relations shaping responses to the climate crisis and supports policies and movements working towards energy systems and economies organised around public need rather than private profit.

Our work connects questions of energy ownership, industrial transformation, extraction and global inequality. It examines both the limits of dominant approaches to the transition and the possibilities for democratic, decolonial and publicly led alternatives.

Energy Democracy

Energy is an essential public good, yet energy systems around the world remain dominated by fossil fuel companies, private investors and market-based models.

TNI researches alternatives based on democratic public ownership, public–community partnerships and stronger participation by workers and communities. We examine how energy systems can move beyond both fossil fuels and profit-driven models to deliver universal access, affordable energy and rapid decarbonisation while strengthening democratic control.

Just Transition

A just transition requires more than substituting renewable energy for fossil fuels. It means transforming the economic and political systems that drive extraction, inequality and ecological breakdown.

TNI works with trade unions, social movements and researchers to explore pathways that put workers, communities and ecosystems at the centre of economic transformation. Our work connects energy transition with questions of public ownership, decent work, social protection, land, gender, racial justice and democratic decision-making.

Climate Justice

The causes and impacts of climate change are profoundly unequal. Countries and communities that have contributed least to the climate crisis frequently face its greatest consequences, while many proposed climate solutions risk reinforcing existing inequalities between North and South.

TNI’s climate justice work examines these global power relations and challenges approaches that shift the social and ecological costs of transition onto marginalised communities. We support alternatives grounded in historical responsibility, redistribution, democratic control and the right of communities to determine their own futures.

Mining and Critical Minerals

The expansion of renewable energy, electric transport and digital infrastructure is driving rapidly growing demand for minerals and other raw materials.

TNI examines the political economy of mining and critical mineral supply chains, including their impacts on land, water, communities and ecosystems. Our research explores how the energy transition can avoid reproducing extractive and colonial patterns and how mineral governance can instead strengthen democratic control, resource sovereignty and social and environmental justice.

Green Industrial Policy

Industrial policy has returned to the centre of debates about climate action, economic development and geopolitical competition. Yet strategies designed in wealthy economies cannot simply be transferred to countries with very different histories, resources and development needs.

Through the Green Industrial Policy Lab, TNI brings together researchers, policy-makers, trade unionists and civil society actors to explore industrial strategies designed from and for the Global South. The aim is to develop approaches that combine ecological transformation with economic sovereignty, decent work, public capacity and social justice.

Learn more

Further information on our research, partnerships and activities on energy democracy, just transition, climate justice, extraction and green industrial policy can be found in our annual reports and publications.

TNI combines research, knowledge sharing and collaboration with movements, trade unions, researchers and public institutions across regions.

Research and analysis

We produce evidence-based research on energy systems, climate policy, extraction, industrial transformation and the political economy of the energy transition. Our work takes a transnational perspective, connecting local struggles with wider patterns of corporate power, finance, trade and geopolitical change.

Popular education and knowledge sharing

We turn complex debates around energy and climate into accessible reports, primers, longreads, multimedia resources and educational programmes. We organise workshops, seminars and public events and work to make knowledge available across languages and regions.

Network building and movement support

We collaborate with trade unions, climate justice organisations, public services networks, researchers and social movements to share knowledge, connect struggles and strengthen alternatives. Particular attention is given to building exchange between movements and researchers in the Global South.

Policy alternatives

Alongside critical analysis, TNI develops and documents concrete alternatives – from democratic public energy systems and public–community partnerships to just industrial strategies and new approaches to natural resource governance.

Communication and media outreach

We engage journalists, researchers and public commentators to bring critical perspectives on climate and energy policy into wider public debate.

Media inquiries

TNI researchers are available for interviews, background briefings and expert commentary on energy and climate issues, including energy democracy, just transition, climate justice, critical minerals and mining, green industrial policy, public ownership and the political economy of the energy transition.

For media inquiries, please contact: press[at]tni.org