India’s Coal Belt and the Quad: Advancing Gender-Responsive Just Transitions

Abstract

India’s path to net zero will require a fundamental reconfiguration of its coal-dependent economy, with major implications for its coal belt, where coal underpins livelihoods and local revenues. While India has been outlining just transition frameworks through District Mineral Foundations, mine closure guidelines, and state-level task forces, these mechanisms remain largely gender-blind. Women in coal regions are concentrated in informal and unpaid work and face disproportionate livelihood, health, and care burdens as mines contract or close. This policy brief examines how the Quad can support a gender-responsive just energy transition by linking domestic reform with regional stability and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. Drawing on cross-learning, it proposes a Quad Framework for Gendered Just Transitions centered on gender audits, women-first reskilling, and transition finance tied to care and social infrastructure. It argues that embedding women’s agency in coal transitions is essential not only for equity, but for resilience, stability, and strategic credibility in the Indo-Pacific.