HOMEF’s Word of the Month is “Transition”.

Transition describes the process of moving from one system, state, or set of conditions to another, and in the environmental context, it is one of the most contested words of our time.
At its most urgent, ‘transition’ refers to the shift away from fossil fuel dependence toward energy systems that do not cook the planet, poison communities, or fund the wars of extractive empires. But we must understand that ‘transition’ is not simply a technical or infrastructural project, but rather a political one. The question is never only what we are transitioning to, but who decides, who benefits, and who bears the cost.

But the word has been captured by corporations that built their fortunes on extraction, and they now deploy “transition” as a branding exercise: offering carbon credits, false solutions, and green-painted versions of the same destructive logic. A “just transition” in their hands becomes a managed handover that preserves existing power structures while communities continue to suffer the consequences of decades of ecological destruction without remedy or reparation.

But a genuine transition is far more radical than whatever they propose. It demands the restoration of community sovereignty over land, seeds, water, and energy. It requires the recognition that the Global South did not create this crisis and cannot be asked to absorb its costs. It insists that transition must be rooted in indigenous knowledge, ecological integrity, and the rights of nature.

Transition is not a destination, but a direction. And the path there must be walked by the people most affected, on their own terms, and at a pace that leaves no one behind.