New Delhi, July 28 (Agency) Seeking to shed light on the lives of communities inextricably linked to the coal sector, a two-day photo exhibition here highlighted the need for a people-centric approach to a just energy transition.The exhibition titled “Coal Dependence: Lives in an Extractive Economy” organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), touchingly documented the struggles of people inhabiting what is known as India’s coal region and the obstacles they confront in their daily lives. The 40 photos from the coal belt of Giridih in Jharkhand were showcased at the TERI headquarters in the India Habitat Centre as part of the MacArthur Foundation-supported project “Just Transition: Understanding and the Implications of Moving Away from Coal”. TERI Director-General Vibha Dhawan, who launched the photo exhibition on July 25, said: “This display lets us realise how fortunate we are. It has highlighted the insurmountable obstacles that people in this region, particularly women, confront”. The launch also included the release of the book “Voices from the Ground: A Travelogue,” depicting the lives of individuals living in the coal belt and articulating opinions of the numerous stakeholders.
Jayanta Mita, Senior Fellow, TERI, recounted the experiences of the group of researchers who travelled through five villages with coal reserves and closely examined the lives of people in these areas. “Through this exhibition, we have tried to show the degree of vulnerability of the people in coal regions of India, the need to widen their economic choices, and restore the smiles back on their faces, with an urgent call for women’s empowerment.’’ “We wished to instil a sense of urgency in all the researchers and actors to come together and think programmatically for a wider impact,” he added. During the exhibition, a video documentary titled “As She Changes: Seeding People-Centric Transitions in India’s Coal Belt” was shown, detailing the work done among women in Giridih, Jharkhand – a major coal-producing district – to prepare them for entrepreneurship, culminating in the creation of self-run businesses with market linkages to ensure sustainability. AK Saxena, Senior Director at TERI, said, “As we face the heat of climate change now, there is a greater emphasis on transitioning to a sustainable future. However, this transformation must be just. A just transition has the potential to lift communities.” The event served as a heartbreaking reminder of the human dimension in the search of sustainable energy solutions, emphasising the significance of assisting those most impacted by this unavoidable shift.