Dr. Pezzullo is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Boulder.

“Just transition” is a term developed by labor and climate justice movements to advocate the idea that the major transformation we are undergoing from a global fossil fuel carbon-based economy to a renewable energy economy should incorporate ecological and social justice or (what some call “equity”). Many claim the first person to coin the phrase was Tony Mazzocchi, best known for championing the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). During his speech at the first national Green Party Convention in Denver, Colorado, on June 25, 2000, Mazzocchi called for a proactive plan for workers losing jobs as a result of environmental policy: “If there’s to be a real alliance around our shared concerns, the cornerstone has to be a just transition, a transformation, moving from the type of society that does harm to a great many people to a society that does harm to no one and a society that’s free of want.” Pezzullo will define the value of this vision and outline what a just transition might entail at the city level, including stories from Boulder’s recent climate action plan vote that included a just transition framework.

Dr. Pezzullo is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Boulder and director of BoulderTalks.