Telling the Transition Story, with Gamze Çelikyılmaz

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we're chatting to Gamze Çelikyılmaz, Vice Chair of Climate Academy Global and a long-time climate change policy specialist, to make sense of where the global energy transition actually stands and why the picture is so uneven across regions. With Gamze we go from the big global picture to the local human reality of a just transition. For communities built around coal mines, power plants, oil and gas, the challenge is not only replacing jobs but also protecting health, preserving dignity, and rebuilding tax bases, institutions and social networks. Gamze explains why there is no such thing as a 100% just transition, yet also why delaying change is not fair either, and how practical measures like reskilling, upskilling, worker protections and long-term governance can keep the process as just as possible. Along the way we dig into examples that show what works in practice: Germany’s Ruhr region and Spain’s Bilbao, plus reflections on the UK’s own history and the emerging energy transition zone in Aberdeen. A recurring theme is storytelling, because successful transitions create a new identity that people can own, not just a list of projects on a spreadsheet. So if you care about climate action, climate policy, fossil fuel phase-out, clean energy jobs and what a fair transition really means for real places, listen in!Follow GoodGeist for more episodes on sustainability, communications and how creativity can help make the world a better place.