Regional – Just Transition Initiative

What is "Just Transition"?

Commentary/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Aug 2021

COP26: The Perfect Opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean to Champion a Just Transition to Net Zero

This commentary narrates the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic and extreme weather events on the Latin America and Caribbean region and highlights the urgent need for a just and equitable transition to net zero.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Energy
Focus Areas: COVID-19; Economic diversification/restructuring > Infrastructure investment; Employment > Job creation and/or equality; Government intervention > Public finance, Regulation
Keywords: COP26; net-zero; energy efficiency
By: Leonardo Beltran
Publishing Organization: Center for Strategic and International Studies, Climate Investment Funds (CIF)
Academic/research institution or journal, Development finance institution
Summary: The disproportionate impacts of the pandemic and extreme weather events on the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region highlight the urgent need for a just and equitable transition to net zero in LAC. The region has a unique opportunity to step up at the upcoming COP26 by incorporating just transition priorities into two foundational energy initiatives. The Renewable Energy for Latin America and the Caribbean (RELAC) Initiative along with the implementation of the Observatory of Energy Management Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, supported by sources of climate finance, have the potential to help deliver on the region’s energy and climate goals while also generating the new economic and employment opportunities needed for a new green economy that works for all.

Report/Policy Tools or Evaluations

Jan 2021

Toolkit for assessing effective Territorial Just Transition Plans

This paper identifies a set of principles and proposes a tool for assessing whether European Union (EU) member states’ Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) that are required for them to access the EU Just Transition Fund would be effective for delivering a just transition.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General
Focus Areas: Economic diversification/restructuring > Economic development plans; Government intervention > Other, Public finance; Investment > Private finance
Keywords: EU Just Transition Fund; Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs); scorecard; assessment tool
Publishing Organization: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Non-profit organization/civil society organization
Summary: This paper identifies a set of principles and includes an associated toolkit to assess whether the Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs), developed by member countries of the EU in order to access the EU Just Transition Fund, can enable the delivery of a truly just transition to climate neutrality. Targeted at policymakers, municipalities, civil society, and other partners involved in developing plans, it aims to provide guidance on what a good plan looks like and enable an evaluation of the quality of the plans developed.

The methodology of the tool is based on a series of indicators that allow one to review the performance of the plans against 10 principles. The application of the methodology, which is also available as a webtool, results in a “traffic-light” rating on the plans. WWF intended for the toolkit to be used by the European Commission, national and local policymakers, and any other stakeholders engaged in the development of the plans. WWF has also indicated that published reports are verified and added to their website’s resource page.

Academic paper/Case Study; Definitions and Concepts

Dec 2019

Becoming fundable? Converting climate justice claims into climate finance in Mesoamerica’s forests

The article assesses the efforts of the indigenous and forest people’s groups in Mexico and Central America to promote claims to climate finance in terms of the different concepts of justice and identifies constraints to more transformative and reparative pathways to just climate outcomes.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Land-use
Focus Areas: Environment and/or pollution > Nature; Government intervention > Public finance; Inequality and/or poverty > Other; Justice
Keywords: Forest governance; REDD+; indigenous communities; Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests,; climate finance; UNFCCC; empirical justice analysis; Free Prior and Informed Consent; full consent; reparative or transitional justice narratives; buen vivir; self-determination
By: Laura Aileen Sauls
Publishing Organization: Climate Change
Academic/research institution or journal
Summary: The article draws upon the experiences of a coalition of 10 Indigenous and forest peoples’ groups in Mexico and Central America—the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB)—with regards to their navigation of the discursive strategies suited for accessing climate finance, particularly through the REDD+ instrument. The author uses the history of community positions toward REDD+ to suggest that the claims underpinning their engagement reflect conceptualizations of climate justice, which deviate from those that have dominated policy and popular discussions. The author assesses the feasibility of the AMPB-proposed Mesoamerican Territorial Fund that aims to directly capture climate finance, which would bypass problematic relations with national governments and traditional donors.

The article finds that although Indigenous peoples and local communities have made significant advances in terms of representation, recognition, participation, and concrete funding, the constraints of “becoming fundable” may hinder more transformative and reparative pathways to just climate outcomes. The requirement to “become fundable”, under the terms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and major donors, is also a demand for the Indigenous peoples and local communities to become legible . This demand presents a clear tension with the member groups’ priorities of self-determination and “buen vivir”—a term that signifies an explicit recognition of the importance of nature for well-being. The author concludes that moving toward distributive justice may be much easier than a more critical interpretation of procedural justice. As such, efforts to support forest climate initiatives in these contested landscapes may benefit from moving away from results and performance-focused discussions toward a view of climate finance as among the means of achieving distributive, procedural, and historical justice on a territorial scale.

Report/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations; Policy Tools or Evaluations

Jul 2020

Jobs in a Net-Zero Emissions Future in Latin America and the Caribbean

The report details a decarbonization pathway for Latin America and the Caribbean region, identifies expected labor changes in various sectors, and focuses on equity considerations needed in each of the affected sectors.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Agriculture; Energy; Industrial; Transportation
Focus Areas: COVID-19; Economic diversification/restructuring > Economic development plans, Industry and/or sector assistance or plans, Infrastructure investment; Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills, Social protections; Environment and/or pollution > Human health, Nature; Government intervention > Public finance; Inequality and/or poverty > Gender inequality; Investment > Competitiveness, Stranded assets
Keywords: decarbonization; input-output analysis; manufacturing; animal-based and plant based food systems; energy subsidy reform; social protection systems; Public employment programs; dietary shift; gender
By: Catherine Saget, Adrien Vogt-Schilb, Trang Luu
Publishing Organization: Inter-American Development Bank, International Labor Organization (ILO)
Inter-governmental/international organization, Labor organization
Summary: This report takes a detailed look at decarbonization pathways in the Latin America and the Caribbean region and highlights the potential to create 15 million net jobs in sectors, such as sustainable agriculture, forestry, solar and wind power, manufacturing, and construction during such a transition. The report suggests that, with adequately-designed measures to ensure that these jobs are decent and that those who lose out in the transition are protected and supported, recovery plans can create climate benefits, while also boosting growth, tackling inequality, and making progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

This report is based on an input-output analysis using a Global Trade Analysis Project Power database, a commonly employed tool for assessing the direct and indirect environmental and socioeconomic impacts of decarbonization efforts. The study finds that only three sectors would shrink in the transition to a decarbonized economy: 1) fossil-fuel based electricity, with about 80,000 jobs lost, or more than half of the current number; 2) fossil-fuel extraction, with almost a third of the current number, or 280,000 jobs eliminated; and 3) animal-based food production systems, with five percent of current jobs lost, representing half a million jobs.

The report provides a sectoral overview of the region and highlights how it is still struggling with gender and ethnic inequalities, skills gaps, insufficient social protection, and a large informal sector, despite more than a decade of steady progress. Prevailing decent work deficits, inequalities, and dependence on fossil fuel exports are expected to make Latin America and the Caribbean particularly susceptible to the social and economic impacts of climate change. The report also identifies the critical need for fairness in this transition and devotes a chapter to identifying the sector-wise equity and justice considerations needed to allow a successful transition in sectors that include energy, agriculture, forestry, waste management, tourism, transport, and construction.

Report/Case Study; Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Apr 2021

Europe’s coal regions: Boosting employment, environment, economy through ‘just transition’

The report, aimed at the European Union (EU), national and local policymakers, looks at coal regions in Poland, Greece, and Bulgaria and assesses the consequences of decarbonization for the local labor market; identifies alternative economic activities that could transform the economic structure of the region; as well as defines the tools and support needed to effectively plan and manage the process.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Mining
Focus Areas: Economic diversification/restructuring > Economic development plans, Infrastructure investment; Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills, Social protections; Government intervention > Public finance; Investment > Stranded assets
Keywords: EU Just Transition Mechanism; indirect effects; stranded assets; Territorial Just Transition Plans; Partnership Principle; Just Transition fund; alternate employment sectors; lost income
By: Sarah Azau, Katie Treadwell, Marta Anczewska, Robert Krzysztofik, Joanna Mazurkiewicz, Jan Frankowski, Jakub Sokołowski, Michał Hetmański, Damian Iwanowski, Daniel Kiewra, Paweł Czyżak, Dimitris Tsekeris
Publishing Organization: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Non-profit organization/civil society organization
Summary: The report takes a detailed look at expected local employment and community-related impacts in Silesia and Eastern Wielkopolska in Poland; Western Macedonia and Megalopolis in Greece; and the Pernik and Bobov Dol regions of southwestern Bulgaria. Furthermore, it also offers recommendations on the biggest Bulgarian coal region, Stara Zagora. The authors report that, as of March 2021, half of Europe’s coal plants had already shut down or set a closure date. The study profiles individual regions and highlights key findings related to employment and wage prospects, lost income from indirect jobs, the types of jobs to which mining workers could transition, and the expected delay before economic benefits from the transition accrue.

It finds that planning, local participation, transparency, and a commitment to ending fossil fuels are crucial aspects for all the regions. These aspects, along with financing, can turn coal communities into sustainably and economically thriving places to live. The report makes recommendations for EU policymakers to consider while approving the Territorial Just Transition Plans that include: the verification of the “Partnership Principle”; the prevention of further investment in fossil-intensive industries; the application of the “polluter pays” principle; the provision of support for all workers affected; and the alignment with other EU funds. The report provides additional recommendations to national and local policymakers to ensure a just transition.

Academic paper/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Oct 2019

Cash transfers for pro-poor carbon taxes in Latin America and the Caribbean

The article looks at how cash transfers could be used as an instrument to mitigate the negative consequences of carbon taxes on poverty.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General
Focus Areas: Government intervention > Carbon pricing, Other
Keywords: carbon tax; cash transfers; Bolsa Familia; taxes; carbon rebate
By: Adrien Vogt-Schilb, Brian Walsh, Kuishuang Feng, Laura Di Capua, Yu Liu, Daniela Zuluaga, Marcos Robles, Klaus Hubaceck
Publishing Organization: Nature Sustainability
Academic/research institution or journal
Summary: The study highlights how carbon taxes, while a potentially useful tool in reducing emissions, increase the cost for consumers directly, and indirectly, by raising the prices of goods and services. It further highlights how the effects are felt more by poorer households.

Imposing a carbon tax, consistent with the Paris Agreement goals, could generate more than USD100 billion in revenue per year in 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region—enough to close the water, sanitation, or electricity access gap. However, on average, the study finds that food prices tend to make carbon taxes regressive. The indirect impacts of carbon taxes on food, public transportation, and electricity would cost households more than the direct impacts on fossil fuels. Nonetheless, the authors cite evidence that adequately compensating negatively-affected households with complimentary policies can enable the reforms to succeed.

The study explores four potential methods using models to study options ranging from the redistribution of carbon revenues to cash transfers, including carbon rebates and different iterations of cash transfer programs. The authors find that in the region studied, 30 percent of the carbon revenues could suffice to compensate poor and vulnerable households on average, leaving 70 percent to fund other priorities. According to the study, international experience, beyond normative views, suggests that any government project to implement carbon taxes without a plan to compensate affected households, at least partially, is unsustainable.

Report/Case Study; Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Aug 2020

Insights from historical cases of transition: Background paper for the EBRD just transition initiative

The report suggests a series of considerations for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to allow for the integration of just transition considerations into its decarbonization operations, using historical evidence from other deep structural changes.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General; Mining
Focus Areas: Economic diversification/restructuring > Economic development plans, Other; Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills; Environment and/or pollution; Social and/or cultural impacts > Pride or cultural identity
Keywords: International Finance Institutions (IFIs); multilateral development banks; regional economic development; worker training; special economic zone; managed retreat; environmental rehabilitation; environmental remediation; “Bottom-up” approaches; labor policy; private sector; trade unions
By: Aaron Atteridge, Isabel Blanco, Claudia Strambo
Publishing Organization: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Development finance institution
Summary: The authors seek to offer insights into how transitions impact people, economies, and the environment, as well as the extent of the effectiveness of different kinds of responses including the impacts of not responding. Moreover, it provides useful considerations related to the needs of those who lose out in society, while addressing overall concerns about inequalities in societies affected by deep structural changes. The report was used to inform EBRD’s approach to just transitions, as set out in the document “The EBRD Just Transition Initiative”.

The authors highlight that without measures to promote a “just” transition, resistance will likely undermine its pace. They draw inferences from other deep structural transitions, such as the steel industries in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Newcastle, Australia, as well as the gold industry in Free State Province, South Africa, to offer insights into what to expect from a green transition.

The authors suggest a series of considerations for EBRD’s operational response to a just transition in order to create viable short-term and long-term solutions for local populations who are affected. Notably, they point out the need for strategic planning for impacted communities, governance structures, and state capacity to implement just transition actions, along with a holistic approach to regional economic development.

Academic paper/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Dec 2018

Green Fiscal Reform for a Just Energy Transition in Latin America

This paper identifies four enabling factors for successful implementations of green fiscal reforms in Central and South America, examining why recent reform efforts have either succeeded or failed.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Energy
Focus Areas: Government intervention > Carbon pricing, Regulation; Inequality and/or poverty > Other
Keywords: green fiscal reform; political economy; enabling conditions; green finance; stakeholder consultation; compensation; subsidies; low-income households; political feasibility
By: Michael Jakob, Rafael Soria, Carlos Trinidad, Ottmar Edenhofer
Publishing Organization: Economics E-journal
Academic/research institution or journal
Summary: The authors of this paper identify and discuss important factors for successful implementations of green fiscal reforms in Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Belize, Venezuela, and Ecuador. When taken into consideration, these factors can help increase the technical and political feasibility of green fiscal reforms.

The authors draw on academic literature and expert knowledge to provide insights into the possibilities for—and limitations of—green fiscal reforms. Based on their analysis, they identify key factors for the successful introduction of green fiscal reforms, emphasizing the importance of favorable political conditions, comprehensive reform planning, and the gradual sequencing of reforms. They also emphasize the need to address distributional impacts on low-income households through social protection schemes based on stakeholder consultations with all relevant social groups. Their inclusion in the decisionmaking process should alleviate concerns about disproportionate adverse impacts on any single group.

The authors conclude by highlighting the international community’s important role in supporting green fiscal reforms through knowledge sharing and financing the macro-economic costs of reforms (such as by tying results-based payments to the introduction of a price on emissions or the de-risking of investments in clean energy and energy efficiency).

Report/Definitions and Concepts; Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Jan 2020

Just Transition: A Social Route To Sustainability

This report introduces the concept of just transitions, outlines their role in providing a social route to sustainability, and provides new guiding principles for policymakers.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General
Focus Areas: Economic diversification/restructuring > Economic development plans, Industry and/or sector assistance or plans; Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills, Social protections; Government intervention > Public finance, Regulation; Inequality and/or poverty > Other; Social and/or cultural impacts > Other
Keywords: European Green Deal; Just Transition fund; media coverage; coronavirus; trade unions; green growth
Publishing Organization: Social Europe Publishing, Hans Bockler Stiftung, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation
Academic/research institution or journal, Non-profit organization/civil society organization
Summary: This report consists of 16 short essays explaining the concept and application of just transitions through discussion of various just transition policies such as the European Green Deal. These contributions from European and international government officials and trade union leaders advocate collective action and engagement with affected communities to draw on their knowledge and perspectives.

The concept of just transitions has gained popularity in the last few decades but remains poorly understood. The report describes just transitions as a bridge between the current world—in which the gap between the rich and the poor enables outsourcing of environmental damage of all kinds—and a world in which “human well-being is improved,” not just growth. It calls for designing fair socioecological policies that not only aim to reduce pollution but also address inequality and social injustice.

In addition, the report emphasizes the need to mobilize resources such as the European Union’s Just Transition Fund and develop the right tools for an inclusive approach to climate change and social issues. It describes sustainability as a core principle for just transitions, urging the European Green Deal to “integrate all dimensions of sustainability,” including social, environmental, and economic aspects. The authors criticize a lack of media coverage of the issues and maintain that stronger public support is needed to combat climate change and improve environmental justice.

Report/Policy Tools or Evaluations

Jan 2020

The Political Economy of Energy in Central and Eastern Europe: Supporting the New Zero Transition

This report compares the political economy of the energy transition in Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia to inform policy interventions that will accelerate the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Energy; Mining
Focus Areas: Environment and/or pollution > Human health; Government intervention > Public finance, Regulation; Investment > Private finance
Keywords: investor confidence; National Energy and Climate Plan (NECPs); EU Coal Regions in Transition Platform; energy security; energy poverty; energy efficiency; political economy mapping; Just Transition mechanism; public concern for environmental issues
By: Ada Ámon, Rebekka Popp, Felix Heilmann
Publishing Organization: E3G
Academic/research institution or journal
Summary: This report examines the political economy of the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), providing country-level insights into Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The authors use their political economy mapping methodology (PEMM) to examine trends in expanding renewable energy, using coal for energy production, planning for transitions, ensuring energy security, promoting energy efficiency, and responding to public concern for climate action. These insights inform the authors’ recommendations to support the European Green Deal and to accelerate the energy transition in the CEE.

The authors discuss the untapped potential of renewable energy in the CEE, detailing each country’s renewable energy plans and how improvements in energy efficiency could significantly reduce emissions in the region given the current energy-intensive state of their economies. They argue that domestically produced wind and solar energy could not only address air pollution but also help CEE countries achieve greater energy independence from Russia.

The authors discuss each country’s reliance on coal for energy production. While Slovakia, Hungary, and Czechia have recently decided to accelerate the transition away from coal, only Czechia and Slovakia have reportedly laid the foundation for a managed transition and developed transition strategies for their coal regions. The government of Hungary, as well as those of Bulgaria and Poland, has yet to plan for the transition of coal regions.

While public concern over climate change and other environmental issues such as air pollution is reportedly low in the CEE, it seems to be increasing in response to youth protests, extreme weather events, and energy access concerns. That said, the European Union remains the main driver of energy transition policies and funding in the CEE, and there have been recent tensions between the European Union and some CEE member states regarding climate plans. The authors conclude by providing recommendations on how to support sustainable energy, finance the transition, and establish inclusive policymaking processes.