The Catholic Church in the province of Antique in the Philippines has called for a government-backed just transition roadmap for the island of Semirara, where the current coal contract expires in July 2027 and nearly 1,000 employees are affected by redundancy. The proposed roadmap would cover retraining and employment for workers, social protection, economic diversification, renewable energy and sustainable industries, and rehabilitating the mined areas, with affected stakeholders given a meaningful role in shaping the island’s future.

Efforts by the U.S. state of Illinois to redevelop retiring coal plant sites with solar and storage have delivered fewer projects than planned. The experience shows that replacing coal generation with clean energy doesn’t necessarily replace the jobs and local tax revenues that the coal plants once provided. Researchers argue that coal-to-solar policy should therefore focus on not only site redevelopment but also supporting affected workers and communities through the transition.

In the former Rajhara coal-mining area of Jharkhand, India, many households still rely on coal and firewood for cooking because liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is unaffordable. At the same time, solar power is being used to pump water from abandoned mine pits, certified as safe for use in irrigation, to between 40 and 50 farm plots – thereby supporting farming and new livelihoods as mining employment declines. Community groups have been formed to manage access to and distribution of the water.

A mixed-methods study in Colombia’s coal-dependent La Jagua de Ibirico asked residents to assess mining, agriculture, livestock, tourism, and commerce across economic, social, ecological, and cultural dimensions. Mining scored highest economically but lowest ecologically, while agriculture ranked strongly for cultural compatibility and tourism ranked highly for ecological and cultural value. The results suggest that post-coal planning should weigh community priorities across these dimensions, rather than assessing alternatives mainly by considering jobs and income.

A former coal mine in New South Wales has received planning approval for an AUD 1.8 billion (USD 1.2 billion) solar and pumped-hydro energy storage project. The 620-megawatt development would reuse existing mine land, transmission infrastructure, and water resources, while creating 350 construction jobs and 10 permanent roles. It would also provide AUD 18.2 million (USD 12.7 million) for local community infrastructure, linking coal-site redevelopment with new clean energy investment and employment.

The Belledune coal plant in New Brunswick, Canada, has secured most of the biomass supply needed for its planned conversion from coal to wood pellets ahead of Canada’s 2030 coal phase-out. A planned pellet factory costing CAD 100 million (USD 70 million) nearby is expected to create 75 jobs and sustain more than 325 forestry jobs, while two First Nations have invested in the supply venture. The conversion is expected to be completed between 2028 and 2030.

Women trade unionists from mining and energy unions worldwide met in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, at a conference organised by IndustriALL, a global union federation representing workers across industrial sectors. They agreed to establish a Global Women in Mining Committee and called for more influence over negotiations, jobs, and benefits from the energy and critical minerals transition, alongside stronger action on training access, health and safety, harassment, and collective bargaining.

Spain plans to allocate up to 11   of grid capacity to renewable energy and storage projects at just transition hubs. Projects will need to meet technical and environmental requirements and commit to socioeconomic measures benefiting the relevant transition area. Public consultations on the allocation process were open until 8 October 2026, with a separate competitive tender planned for two grid nodes in Palencia that have attracted strong interest from pumped-hydro developers.

Zimbabwe is reviving coal generation after falling far short of its renewable energy targets and facing drought-related declines in hydropower. By the end of 2025, only around 10% of the planned 1,100 megawatts of new renewables capacity had been added. Zimbabwe’s government is now spending more than USD 450 million to refurbish six coal units at Hwange, following an investment of USD 1.5 billion in two new units.

Disruptions to the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have temporarily pushed several Southeast Asian countries back towards coal, with Thailand reactivating dormant coal plants and Vietnam and the Philippines also increasing coal use. Although the region invested a record USD 17 billion in renewables last year, the disruption exposed gaps in storage, grid interconnections, and demand management. Strengthening these systems will be critical for avoiding similar short-term coal rebounds during future supply shocks.

France will provide Mexico with a policy loan of USD 113 million, alongside up to USD 2.72 million in technical cooperation, for 12 projects supporting the energy transition. The package includes a just transition plan for the oil- and gas-dependent city of Campeche, research on energy poverty and women’s participation, measures to strengthen clean energy supply chains, and strategies for worker retraining and economic diversification in fossil fuel-dependent regions.

Chile has a national Just Transition Strategy and transition processes underway in several affected territories, but progress remains uneven. Fernando Krauss, former head of the Environment Ministry’s Just Transition Office, points to the city of Concón, where a local council was established but a transition plan is still pending, and argues that funding, legal backing, and coordination remain weak. He also criticises the current government’s withdrawal of a decree creating an interministerial oversight council.

A proposed restart of coal mining in Spain’s Asturias region has triggered a dispute over EUR 31.24 million in aid received by the mine’s former owner between 2011 and 2017 for the purpose of permanently ceasing production. This is raising questions about whether publicly financed coal phase-outs can later be reversed. The new operator argues that it should not have to repay subsidies received by the former owner, while the government says that reopening the mine would reuse infrastructure covered by that aid and undermine the conditions of the original closure.

Vietnam has introduced new criteria for identifying green and circular projects, including solar, wind, biomass, and battery projects. The framework also provides for environmental, social, and governance standards. By clarifying which projects can qualify for green incentives and support, the rules could help direct investment at emerging clean energy industries and support economic diversification as Vietnam advances its energy transition.

El Niño-driven drought has lowered river levels in Indonesia’s coal-producing regions, restricting barge traffic and disrupting exports. Producers have had to reduce cargo loads, reroute shipments, and absorb higher transport costs, while coal exports in August fell by 23.3% (year on year) to 36.1 million tonnes. This shows how climate-driven drought can disrupt coal supply chains and add pressure to a sector already exposed to volatile international energy markets.

Pakistan’s rooftop solar boom is reducing demand on the grid and increasing the financial burden of underused coal plants. New research proposes retiring costly plants that use imported coal first, with support focused on workers and suppliers, while taking a slower approach in the region of Thar, where coal underpins jobs and local services. Retired plants could be repurposed with synchronous condensers and battery storage to provide grid stability as renewable energy expands.

Research on communities around the Somkhele coal mine in South Africa found losses of more than ZAR 80 million (USD 4.8 million) in land, crops, and livestock between 2007 and 2018, while reported compensation to those affected by the mine’s operation totalled just ZAR 3.6 million (USD 217,000). Using a livelihood-based valuation that includes future income losses, researchers estimate that compensation owed could reach at least ZAR 157 million (USD 9.5 million) by 2038, highlighting the importance of fuller accounting of community losses caused by mining in coal transitions.

South Africa’s state power company, Eskom, is seeking private sector partners to develop agricultural hubs at five Mpumalanga coal power stations scheduled to close by 2030, aiming to create jobs and diversify local economies before shutdown. Learning from the poorly managed closure of the Komati power plant, Eskom has issued a request for information to assess costs and private sector interest. The hubs are part of wider plans to repurpose coal sites for renewables, training, manufacturing, and other activities.

South African renewable energy producer Seriti Green has brought the first 155-MW phase of its Ummbila Emoyeni wind farm into operation in Mpumalanga, South Africa’s main coal-producing province, as part of a planned 900-MW renewables rollout. About 2,100 employees have contributed to the project, including many from the coal industry, with Seriti highlighting the potential to retrain coal workers for employment in wind energy. The company expects to invest about ZAR 40 billion (USD 2.4 billion) in renewables in the province.

The Scottish region of Aberdeenshire, long at the heart of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas industry, is going to develop a just transition plan to manage economic change. Building on existing work on diversification, skills, and community resilience, the framework will focus on three main areas: protecting livelihoods; helping workers move into renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture; and supporting oil and gas supply-chain businesses to diversify.