An Action-Oriented Research Agenda for Forests and Just Transitions

Forests are highly contested spaces where the rights and needs of land-connected communities are increasingly in tension with rapidly expanding decarbonisation agendas in response to climate change concerns, including those pushing for renewable energy development, mining for energy transition minerals, and carbon offsetting projects. Gaining a better understanding of these agendas and the conditions under which they pose challenges or opportunities for land-connected peoples is essential to inform more just and inclusive energy pathways to low-carbon futures. Here, we present a novel research agenda for just energy transitions in forest landscapes. The agenda was co-produced by civil society organisations, activists, practitioners, and academics based in seven countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Our agenda is centred around 25 research questions identified through an iterative Delphi process. Our questions cluster around five central themes: (1) collective rights and knowledge systems of land-connected peoples; (2) domestic governance, institutions and accountability (3) community agency, innovation, and local economies; (4) geopolitical context and structural inequalities; and (5) forest and land-connected peoples’ wellbeing trade-offs. Our agenda reflects the knowledge needs of various stakeholders working at the frontlines of decarbonisation processes in forest contexts and provides novel points of entry for enquiry and action to advance a more just and equitable understanding of decarbonisation processes and their implications for forests and land-connected peoples.