The discursive politics of marginalisation: an intersectional analysis of European just transition plans

The European Commission (EC) aims to achieve a ‘just transition’ towards a ‘carbon neutral’ society by 2050, including and considering the most marginalised communities. The way marginalised communities are portrayed in the so-called ‘just transition’ policies remains understudied. In this paper, we adopt an intersectional lens to study transition plans in different European regions to further our understanding of how ‘just transition’ policies tackle marginalisation. We find three distinct discourses shaping marginalisation in European just transition policies: a simplified discourse that uses homogeneous categories, a labour-oriented discourse, and a diversity discourse. The diversity discourse acknowledges the intersecting identities and contrasting experiences of marginalised communities. However, even when marginalisation is understood within a ‘diversity’ discourse where multiple identities are considered, marginalised groups seem to lack agency in shaping those discourses.