Gustė Gurčinaitė

Planning for a Just Transition in the European Union's Energy and Climate Policy

Gustė Gurčinaitė is a DPhil candidate in the Environmental Change Institute and the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and a first Lithuanian Rhodes Scholar.

Focused on the European Union's energy and climate policy, Gustė's research examines how to achieve a just transition to climate neutrality through governance and decision-making dimensions. In her work, she bridges environmental, energy, and social sciences.

Gustė uses qualitative, participatory and action research methods to directly engage European policy practitioners in knowledge production on just transition. Such an approach aims to enhance mutual learning between academia and policy and support practical policy change.

Her forthcoming publications will highlight opportunities to strengthen the EU's just transition governance framework and contribute practical decision-making tools to help practitioners anticipate and address social risks early in transition policy design.

Gustė also serves as an EU's Young Energy Ambassador under the European Commission program, contributing youth perspectives to clean energy policy discussions in the Directorate General for Energy, and is a Founding Member in OxCAN's Climate Justice Working Group.

Gustė holds an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford, graduating with Distinction, and a BA in Political Science from New York University Abu Dhabi, where she graduated summa cum laude.

• Gurčinaitė, G. and Barbrook-Johnson, P. (2026) From just transition pledges to policy practice: A participatory case study applying the Energy Justice Framework in early-stage transition planning in Vilnius, Lithuania. Energy Research & Social Science, 134: 104618.
• Khosla, R. and Gurčinaitė, G. (2026) Navigating risk and building resilience in the UK’s energy system: Three pillars for policy action. Smith School and Zero Institute policy report.