Date of Award

12-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Statement

Master of Arts in Arctic and Northern Studies

Department

Arctic and Northern Studies

Granting Institution

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Committee Chair

Lovecraft, Amy

Committee Member

Speight, Jeremy

Committee Member

Hirsch, Alex

Table of Contents

1: Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Methods

4. Barriers and bridges

4.1 Labor

4.2 Infrastructure and technology

4.3 State governance

4.4 Public perception

5. Just energy transition policy recommendations for Alaska. 6. Conclusion and possible outcomes

Abstract

Increasingly, government jurisdictions are finding ways to reduce carbon use within their boundaries, but different locations use varied tactics to create low-carbon economies. Furthermore, not all cities, states, or nations focus on the issue of inequity and the need for justice in the transition, so that the transition costs are not far higher for already marginalized groups. Using Alaska, an Arctic petrostate, as a case study, my research question is: What form of a just energy transition best fits the needs of Alaska’s communities struggling with the impacts of climate change? To answer this question, my research is grounded in five key components of the energy transition recognized in an extensive review by Xinxin Wang and Kevin Lo (2021). The first four components — key domains of society that must be addressed in an energy transition — are labor, infrastructure and technology, state governance, and public perception. The fifth component combines four justice principles—distributional, procedural, recognitional, and restorative—that are integral to making the transition intentionally equitable. My research demonstrates “bridges” and "barriers" to a just energy transition within the context of the first four foundational elements and highlights the existing progress and challenges in Alaska. In this way, one can evaluate how far along the energy transition path the state is. In addition, twelve recommendations, categorized according to the four justice principles and tailored to a Northern petroleum-dependent economy, are provided. These include proposals for the state to proactively invest in the low-carbon energy sector, foster a localized approach to decision-making, develop deeper relations between the state and Alaska Native communities, and improve climate change adaptation and education. The results are pertinent to other Northern locations where populations are remote, extractive industries are prevalent, Indigenous Peoples are present, and annual cycles are bound to extreme cold. This study contributes to the growing field of Arctic energy policy literature and the nascent discourse on the energy transitions of petrostates.

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