Repurposing Coal Mining Lands for a Just Transition: Methods, Financing Options, and Governance Solutions

The present paper is the first attempt to provide a new blueprint for proactively addressing coal mining lands within a Just Transition framework. It argues that traditional approaches to mine land remediation can only go so far in offering coal transitioning communities with the natural capital badly needed for economic diversification. Rather, the present paper proposes that a new approach to treating post-mining lands would have the objective of repurposing: putting former mining lands into future use states that offer investment and public use opportunities for private sector and citizens alike. Such an innovative approach, as developed and now being piloted by the World Bank in several coal transitioning countries, relies not only on new methods and tools for assessing lands and planning their use; it equally requires thinking differently about how the process of mining land repurposing is institutionally managed. Furthermore, by thinking very differently about the future use of mining lands and establishing structures to effectively govern these transformative processes, we can begin to unlock new financial solutions.