Just Transition Policy in the Context of Nuclear Decommissioning in Dounreay

Nuclear decommissioning presents significant socioeconomic challenges for its host regions, particularly in employment, earnings, and social cohesion. For
Dounreay nuclear decommissioning, these challenges in Caithness and North Sutherland are compounded with under investment in essential infrastructure, rural depopulation, and remoteness. This research project explores how the role of decommissioning of a historical nuclear facility in Dounreay impacts the surrounding local community in the context of Just Transition. It examines the
potential for decommissioning as a driver for building future skills and capacities for economic diversification, and local resilience. Drawing upon the policy framework of a Just Transition, the project explores how decommissioning processes align with national and regional visions for a Net Zero focused
economy, how the process of change is engaging with community aspirations for the local economy, and how the policy drivers for a Just Transition are recreated in a remote rural community that faces significant change. This report covers the first phase of the study reviewing the relevant background and policy developments