Collie’s just transition: a blueprint for ​the world’s eight million coal workers?

JUST Stories is IHRB's series of features centred on the people, the perspectives, and the relationships at the heart of net-zero transitions. We are documenting examples of the most innovative and meaningful net-zero partnerships that are advancing transitions at speed and for the benefit of those most affected.

Our first story, released in February 2025, dives into the unfolding just transition in Collie, Australia, a coal community with 130 year heritage.

• Collie is a small coal town in Western Australia where businesses, workers and the community have come together to co-create their future without fossil fuels.
• Collie’s proud 130 year heritage of powering Western Australia will come to an end when the last coal plants close in 2029 - but the town has worked together to design a just transition that is delivering benefits to peoples’ pay packets today and jobs for the future, with close to A$700 million investment secured for new green industries.
• Transitioning away from coal is non-negotiable - but with 1 million coal-related jobs worldwide at risk, how transitions avoid leaving behind workers and communities is the key question.
• The JUST Stories team visited and met with Collie’s workers, community leaders, politicians and businesses to explore how the just transition was built – what worked, what didn’t - and how it could serve as a model for other coal regions worldwide.