Closed frames, open wounds
Abnormal justice across energy and agrifood systems
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13084253 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Carolan (0000-0002-2691-0454, Colorado State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-7 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-24 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2325-1042 • E-ISSN: 2325-1042 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23251042.2026.2637618 |
| OpenAlex | W7134051809 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 11 |
Just transition frameworks aim to dismantle unsustainable systems while advancing fairness, participation, and repair. This paper argues that many transitional shortcomings, often attributed to poor implementation, are instead tensions inherent in just transitions, particularly around frame-setting and sequencing. Drawing on Nancy Fraser’s concept of abnormal justice, this analysis shows that during systemic change, the subjects, scales, and standards of justice are contested, making justice an ongoing process rather than a fixed endpoint. Using Colorado’s coal phase-out as an illustrative case, the essay traces how state-led energy transitions often stabilize frame-setting decisions early – through mandates, regulatory alignment, and urgency claims – while justice enters later as mitigation within an already settled frame. It contrasts this with agrifood transitions, in which comparable climate harms are addressed through dispersed, incremental interventions, yielding fragmented justice claims. I examine energy and agrifood transitions not because they are equivalent, but because their contrasting institutional structures make visible how justice claims are sequenced differently across sustainability transitions. The paper concludes that the central challenge is not to design transitions without injustice, but to build institutions capable of acknowledging loss, enabling contestation, and supporting repair over time.
Economic Justice · Energy (signal processing · Energy policy · Environmental justice · Politics · Renewable energy · Sustainability · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy · Water Governance and Infrastructure
Climate Change 2022 - Mitigation of Climate Change
Just Transitions’ Meanings
Sustainable agrifood systems for a post-growth world
Who are the victims of low-carbon transitions? Towards a political ecology of climate change mitigation
New perspectives on the agriculture–migration nexus
Migration, labor and women’s empowerment
Transition tensions
Abnormal Justice
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |