Connecting international cooperation to local realities of the just transition

There is a growing consensus that a Just Transition approach to achieving our climate goals can maximise positive spillovers from climate action, help navigate trade-offs, reduce existing inequalities and fight poverty. A just and equitable approach to climate action can raise ambition in developing countries, as the scale of unmet development needs currently undermines countries’ adaptive and mitigative capacity. Decision -/CMA.4 of the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan provides a critical moment for the UNFCCC to create enabling environments for an upward spiral of ambition and action.

Just transitions are rooted in local contexts and experiences. International cooperation on Just Transition must therefore connect to the lived realities of vulnerable communities, which may include difficult conversations about trade-offs. Questions remain on the role of the UNFCCC in balancing the urgency of the climate crisis with the patience required to build trust and capacity at a local level.

Multi-level governance is crucial to achieving the goals set of the Paris Agreement. Yet, low institutional capacity is one of the most important factors affecting the feasibility of achieving 1.5C scenarios. Enhanced integration between of international, regional, national and subnational institutions will be fundamental to fair and equitable transitions that balance local and global risks and opportunities.

Negotiations on the work programme on just transition during the intersessional meeting in Bonn highlighted a tension between nationally-determined, locally-led, and context-specific strategies and ambitions for international cooperation. These tensions are particularly evident concerning the scope, modalities and institutional arrangements of the new Work Programme, as well as its role as an enabler of means of implementation (finance, technology and capacity-building).

This event will bring together policymakers, researchers, non-party actors and community organisers to explore innovative ways to interlink local dialogues, national climate action plans, and international cooperation to enable just transitions to low-carbon and resilient societies. The event will centre perspectives from the Global South to support an inclusive and open dialogue.