Brownfields to Green Energy: How Land Repurposing Supports Climate Action

The session examined the repurposing of brownfields as a strategic solution to support the global shift from coal to renewable energy, highlighting its importance in addressing land scarcity for sustainable development. The discussion emphasized the need for large land areas as the world transitions to renewable energy, contrasting this with the lower land requirements of traditional fossil fuels. The focus was on the potential of converting former coal mining sites and other industrial brownfields into productive spaces for renewable energy projects, thus avoiding the environmental and ecological impacts of converting greenfields. A key highlight was the introduction of the Land Utilisation and Repurposing Application (LURA), developed by the World Bank’s Energy and Extractives Unit. LURA facilitates the evaluation of post-mining lands, enabling stakeholders to optimize land use for renewable energy, carbon offset projects, and economic revitalization in former mining regions. The tool has already been applied in several transitioning nations, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, and Poland, assisting governments and local communities in developing fact-based scenarios for sustainable land reuse. The session connected these themes to the World Bank’s “Just Transition for All” framework, underscoring the importance of equitable and responsible land governance in the pursuit of a net-zero future. Discussions highlighted the need for strategic land management to ensure a just and effective transition away from coal, promoting both environmental and socio-economic benefits.


This resource has been made available by the organizers of the World Bank Land Conference under the following disclaimer.