"Strengthening a Just Transition for a Sustainable Future".

A Just Transition Starts with Human Dignity

I had this thought today while reflecting on The World Day of Social Justice and this year’s theme, "Strengthening a Just Transition for a Sustainable Future." We talk so much about sustainability in terms of the planet—reducing waste, shifting economies, creating greener jobs—but what about the people caught in the transition?

What about the exhaustion? The uncertainty? The sense of being left behind?

As a psychotherapist and school counsellor, I see this all the time. Transitions—whether personal, societal, or global—bring grief, identity shifts, and fear. Change, even when necessary, is messy. And yet, in conversations about sustainability and justice, mental health is often left out of the equation.

But how can we build a fairer, more sustainable world if we don’t first make space for people to process, heal, and find their footing

Humanistic psychotherapy has taught me that people don’t just need solutions; they need to be heard, seen, and valued. They need dignity, agency, and community. A “just transition” can’t just be about policies—it has to be about people’s lived experiences. If we don't create inclusive, supportive spaces where individuals—especially young people—can make sense of the changing world, we risk replicating old patterns of exclusion under a new, greener banner.

I think about the learners I work with. Growing up in a world full of uncertainty—climate anxiety, shifting job markets, social inequalities they are inheriting. They are watching, listening, absorbing. If school counselling doesn’t evolve to help them navigate these complexities with resilience and critical awareness, then we’re failing them.

We have to prepare them for change itself.

I believe mental health is a justice issue. Sustainable futures aren’t just about energy and economics; they’re about the inner landscapes of the people expected to build them. If we truly want a just transition, we need to create spaces for healing, spaces for belonging, and spaces where every person feels they have a place in the future we are shaping.

Because sustainability isn’t just about what we preserve.

It’s also about who we refuse to leave behind.

Käthe Kollwitz. piece The Mothers (1922) shows a huddled group of women, embodying both protection and despair—an image that perhaps mirrors the emotional burden of those caught in today’s shifting social and environmental landscape

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