This article surveys ongoing international discussions on energy transition as a response to the urgent need to address climate change and considers them in the context of public health and social protection policies. As many countries accelerate their energy transition efforts in response to climate change, the integration of public health and social protection considerations is becoming increasingly prominent in the discourse. The progress in energy transition varies significantly across countries and regions. Regions and countries with lower levels of development are at higher risk in terms of public health and social protection due to their slower progress in energy transition. The concept of ‘just transition’ or of ‘just energy transition partnership’ (JETP) should be considered as a way to help enhance public health and social protection in developing countries. As it aims to become a leading nation, the Republic of Korea should accelerate its energy transition efforts and commit more to international discussions, as well as contribute further to energy transition in developing countries.
The European Union (EU) has set itself the target of climate neutrality by 2050 as part of its European Green Deal. This ambition marks a potential watershed moment in the political economy of EU Member States. Yet, questions remain as to whether the Member States will be able to meet this climate objective. This paper provides an overview of challenges that Member States may face, and pays particular attention to economic and political challenges that may inhibit Member States. It also draws attention to variations in the extent of economic challenges across and within Member States. Furthermore, the paper sketches the possibilities and limits of social and industrial policies in diminishing these economic challenges and mitigating their political ramifications.
In this article, I give an overview of the progress of the just transition in two Nordic countries, Finland and Denmark. Specifically, this article explores the significant role Finland’s labor unions have played in a just transition and the Danish government’s active support for green-transition technology. I look in particular at the social protection programs involved, as, for a successful just transition, it is essential to ensure that support is provided for workers who would take up roles in the decarbonized economy, for their occupational retraining as well as income support while they are on training. The case analysis highlights the importance of defining distinct roles for various stakeholders, fostering collaboration among them, and establishing a society-wide response mechanism.
France’s response to the climate crisis consists of well-structured carbon-neutral policies encompassing various legislative acts and strategic plans that pursue a well-balanced mix of nuclear power and renewables. These carbon-neutral policies have been implemented through various national low-carbon strategies, multi-year energy programs, eco-environmental plans, and climate and energy strategies, all underpinned by a series of legal frameworks such as the Energy and Climate Act, the Climate Recovery Act, the Green Industry Act, and the Fast-Tracking Renewable Energy Protection Act. Having met with success in reducing greenhouse gases, increasing its effort to increase the share of such renewables as solar and wind power in energy consumption, and citizen-led legislation, France is now at work to speed up its energy transition and advance the role of nuclear power as a carbon-free energy source.
Ever since the ‘energy transition’ debate in the 1980s, Germany has consistently pursued government-led climate policies. With the enactment in 2023 of the Climate Protection Act, Germany has set out to become a ‘climate-neutral’ country by 2045, rolling out various policy measures in a bid to reduce carbon emissions. The German Climate Protection strategy not only aims to reduce carbon emissions but also seeks to drive a large-scale industrial shift by integrating energy schemes and technological innovation policies. The German approach to ‘green transition’―innovating through government-led technological promotion, keeping social innovation ahead of the market, and promoting industrial support in one―offers significant implications for eco-sustainability and future market opportunities.
Tax policies in the modern welfare state are inextricably linked with social security policies. This is because tax policies not only provide the financial resources essential for implementing social security policies but also serve as a key mechanism for reducing market inequality. In any welfare capitalist society, however, a tax increase is a sensitive issue about which most political forces tend to remain discreet, especially in the US, where support for the market system is pervasive and firm. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, US society and its political circles have begun to consider the prospect of a tax increase in earnest and in a concrete manner, in the context of which a buzzword on the rise is ‘wealth tax’. In this article, I examine the ongoing discussion in the US regarding the introduction of a wealth tax and consider how it will unfold in the months leading up to the November election. To do this, I revisit the concept of a wealth tax as it emerged from US policy history and offer an account of the socioeconomic background that has brought the introduction of a wealth tax into public discourse. I also discuss some of the main features of the wealth tax as proposed in various bills and consider whether, and with what significance, the wealth tax might be implemented.
A health monitoring system for disaster victims, currently lacking in Korea, would enable the identification of the long- and short-term health impacts of disasters, as well as the extent and patterns of these impacts on different population groups. This article examines cases from the US and Japan where national-level efforts, utilizing registries of victims or community resident cohorts, have been made to identify the physical and mental health impacts of disasters. Both the US and Japan have implemented support and policy measures based on findings from their monitoring of disaster victims. The fact that these findings are shared with policymakers, researchers, and the general public, for both academic and policymaking purposes, has significant implications for Korea.
In this article, I examine the current status of ‘young carers’ in Japan and the measures the Japanese government has taken to assist them. Initially, the Japanese government’s young carer survey targeted junior and senior high school students. Later, as findings suggested that family caregiving begins at younger ages, the survey expanded to include primary school students as well. The proportion of family carers, as it turned out, was higher in elementary school children than in junior and senior high school students. Support for young carers in Japan begins with determining whether the child in question is indeed a young carer, itself a process involving prudent judgment. The support that follows is delivered in organic collaboration with social welfare, long-term care, health care, and educational institutions, as a child becoming a family carer may testify to various difficulties within the child’s family. I suggest that Korea consider establishing a system of support for young carers, including primary school children, without necessarily going so far as to establish corresponding legislative acts.
Having become a super-aged society and now on track to see both the proportion of the elderly population and the number of deaths among the elderly reach their peaks in 2040, Japan is making national efforts from various angles in preparation for the upcoming era of ‘numerous deaths.’ The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has launched Advance Care Planning to help individuals prepare for their deaths in advance. Japan’s long-term care system and health insurance are supplemented with end-of-life care programs to ensure that individuals nearing the end of life are cared for both at home and in institutional settings. Additionally, the Japanese government has expanded its hospice housing, which combines the features of home and medical care facilities, to offer individuals more choices regarding where and how they would die with dignity. These initiatives may offer valuable insights for Korean policymakers, particularly in shaping end-of-life care programs.
