Inter-governmental/international organization

What is "Just Transition"?

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/Policy Tools or Evaluations

Jun 2019

Can government transfers make energy subsidy reform socially acceptable? A case study on Ecuador

The report looks at the impact of energy subsidies in Ecuador and its distributional effects as well as explores the scenarios of how the subsidies could be removed and replaced to confer benefits to vulnerable households equitably.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Energy
Focus Areas: Employment > Social protections; Government intervention > Other, Public finance
Keywords: subsidy removal or reform; Bono de Desarrollo Humano; cash transfer programs
By: Filip Schaffitzela, Michael Jakobb, Rafael Soriac, Adrien Vogt-Schilbd, Hauke Ward
Publishing Organization: Inter-American Development Bank
Inter-governmental/international organization
Summary: The report identifies the impact of energy subsidies on public finance in Ecuador and looks at the distributional impacts of subsidies. To inform policy design, the authors use the household survey data from Ecuador, in combination with augmented input-output data, to assess the distributional impacts of energy subsidy reform. Energy subsidies account for about seven percent of Ecuador’s yearly public spending or two-thirds of the fiscal deficit. The study finds that it costs USD20 to transfer USD1 to the bottom income quintile through gasoline subsidies; USD10 through electricity; USD9 through diesel subsidies; and USD5 through liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies. Relative to household income, subsidy removal without compensation would be regressive for diesel and LPG, progressive for gasoline, and approximately neutral for electricity.

While removing these subsidies would yield clear economic and climate benefits, the expected adverse effects on vulnerable households are likely to make such reforms politically difficult. The authors analyze how a fraction of financial resources, freed up by the subsidy reform, could be used to mitigate the income losses of poor households by means of in-kind and in-cash revenue recycling schemes. The results indicate that removing all energy subsidies and increasing the existing social protection program, Bono de Desarrollo Humano, by nearly USD50 per month would confer net benefits of almost 10 percent of their current income to the poorest quintile and also free up significant amounts in the public budget.

The authors also conduct expert interviews to evaluate the political and institutional challenges related to the energy subsidy reform. They identify two combinations of reform options and recycling schemes that would benefit the poorest 40 percent of households, namely eliminating subsidies on gasoline, while increasing the amount transferred to vulnerable households through Bono de Desarrollo Humano; and replacing the universal LPG subsidies with targeted LPG vouchers. The authors suggest that countries in Latin America may benefit from increasing energy prices to fund development programs, reduce public deficits, and incentivize a transition to a low-carbon economy. The cash transfer programs of the region could be an instrument to reduce the impact of energy price hikes on poor consumers, thereby making price reforms more palatable.

Brief/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Feb 2016

Public Procurement for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

This brochure explores how member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development can improve their public procurement functions, and summarizes lessons learned from a review of public procurement systems.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General
Focus Areas: Government intervention > Public finance
Keywords: public procurement; procurement reform; sustainable procurement
By: Rolf Alter, Janos Bertok, Paulo Magina
Publishing Organization: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Inter-governmental/international organization
Summary: This brief argues that well-established and functioning public procurement systems are key to ensuring that public finance allocations are sustainable and just. Sustainable procurement has the potential to create synergies between innovation, market growth, and environmental protection and to be a finance mechanism for just transitions. The authors identify key areas in which Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries need to improve in order to make their public procurement functions more strategic. They briefly summarize lessons learned from a review of procurement systems and conclude with a list of foundational resources on public procurement.

Report/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Jan 2019

The Contribution of Social Dialogue to the 2030 Agenda: Formalizing the Informal Economy

This report discusses the importance of social dialogue in formalizing the informal economy, as outlined in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General
Focus Areas: Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills, Social protections, Worker safety; Environment and/or pollution > Human health; Government intervention > Regulation; Inequality and/or poverty > Gender inequality, Other
Keywords: informal economy; social dialogue; recommendation 204; 2030 Agenda; stakeholder engagement; tripartite dialogue; poverty alleviation; gender bias
By: Laura Maffei
Publishing Organization: International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Inter-governmental/international organization
Summary: The author summarizes findings of case studies from Argentina, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Kenya on the contribution of social dialogue to formalizing the informal economy and meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She discusses how social dialogue serves as a mechanism for implementing the 2030 Agenda and provides recommendations for improving social dialogue to better contribute to formalizing the informal sector.

The author offers a brief explanation of social dialogue before discussing the scale of the informal sector in the global economy. She then highlights the challenges that informal workers face, demonstrating the need for formalization and explaining why social dialogue is essential to the formalization process. Citing examples from around the world, the author also demonstrates how social dialogue can facilitate progress on social protections, inclusion, and more.

The author highlights the continued challenges to formalization, including lack of commitment to social dialogue by various actors, insufficient time and resources, and lack of coordination between dialogue processes. She concludes with recommendations to address these challenges and strengthen social dialogue outcomes.

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

Sep 2019

Accelerating Climate Action: Refocusing Policies Through a Well-being Lens

This report recommends increasing climate ambition by refocusing policy priorities through a well-being lens to facilitate “two-way alignment” between climate policy and other objectives.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Agriculture; Buildings; Energy; Industrial; Transportation
Focus Areas: Environment and/or pollution > Human health, Nature; Government intervention > Carbon pricing, Regulation; Inequality and/or poverty > Other; Investment > Private finance
Keywords: well-being; policy trade-offs; policy synergies; social costs; indicators; affordability; competitiveness; job impacts
Publishing Organization: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Inter-governmental/international organization
Summary: To date, climate ambition has been largely hindered by potential trade-offs between climate policy and other goals, such as affordability, competitiveness, job creation, natural resource management, and public health and safety. In response, these authors recommend refocusing policy priorities through a well-being lens to facilitate “two-way alignment” between climate policy and these other objectives. The authors argue that systematically placing people’s well-being—not just their economic welfare, but also their political and social rights, health, education, security, and environment—at the center of decisionmaking will increase political and social support for more ambitious climate action and help overcome barriers to change.

The authors examine five economic sectors in depth: electricity, heavy industry, residential, surface transport, and agriculture. They explain how refocusing policy priorities and adopting indicators to track progress and inform decisions will make trade-offs and areas of potential collaboration more visible and manageable. They also highlight the importance of reconsidering traditional economic indicators—such as wealth, income, or GDP—when evaluating people’s well-being to acknowledge that pursuing purely economic goals can have negative impacts on other aspects of well-being. They point out the potential benefits of establishing priorities across sectors to deliver multiple well-being and sustainability outcomes, which they argue also helps identify opportunities for cooperation and coordination to meet ambitious climate mitigation targets.

Report/Definitions and Concepts; Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Apr 2019

The Contribution of Social Dialogue to the 2030 Agenda: Promoting a Just Transition towards Sustainable Economies and Societies for All

This paper explains how just transitions can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and discusses the importance of social dialogue, citing examples from around the world.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General
Focus Areas: Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills, Social protections, Worker safety; Government intervention > Regulation; Inequality and/or poverty > Other; Investment > ESG and corporate engagement
Keywords: sustainable development goals; social dialogue; collective bargaining; multinational companies; Global Framework Agreements (GFA); sustainable economic development; sectoral transformation; trade unions
By: Antonio Ferrer Márquez, Begoña María-Tomé Gil, Olga López Maeztu
Publishing Organization: International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Inter-governmental/international organization, Labor organization
Summary: In this report, the authors explain how just transitions can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change. They argue that social dialogue is an essential element of just transitions, as it can facilitate planning processes based on genuine partnership. Drawing on case studies from around the world, the authors highlight just transition processes forged through social dialogue at the national and corporate levels.

The authors examine the role of multinational companies in a just transition, describing the dilution of regulatory power and social and labor rights tied to the rise of large multinational companies. In this context, they explain the importance of social dialogue to protect workers’ interests across supply chains. They highlight various examples of social dialogue within energy and textile companies, including through Global Framework Agreements, and advocate for coordination among trade unions to promote supranational mechanisms for social dialogue. They highlight the need for trade unions to strengthen their capacity on climate-change issues and to integrate an environmental dimension into their strategies to engage in just transitions effectively.

The authors conclude with wide-ranging recommendations for the successful implementation of just transitions. These recommendations are directed at a variety of actors in this space, including donor governments engaged in development.

Report/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

May 2017

Just Transition: A Report for the OECD

This report presents a holistic approach for a just transition to a low-carbon world that promotes environmental sustainability as well as decent work, social inclusion, and poverty eradication.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: General
Focus Areas: Economic diversification/restructuring > Economic development plans, Infrastructure investment; Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills, Social protections, Worker safety; Government intervention > Public finance; Inequality and/or poverty > Other; Investment > ESG and corporate engagement, Private finance
Keywords: OECD countries; social partners; informal workers; innovations; indigenous rights; poverty alleviation; disclosure; trade unions; community development
By: Samantha Smith
Publishing Organization: Just Transition Centre
Inter-governmental/international organization, Labor organization
Summary: This report from the Just Transition Centre describes various concepts and principles of just transitions, using case studies from around the world to analyze the roles key stakeholders can play.

With social dialogue and social protection as its main principles, the International Labor Organization (ILO) definition of just transition serves as a bridge to the future where “all jobs are green and decent, poverty is eradicated, and communities are thriving and resilient,” as defined by the ILO. This report examines the potential role for various stakeholders depending on the scale of a transition. Drawing from several case studies, the report offers examples in which social dialogue has been key, including the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power facility in California and the wind sector transition in Denmark.

The report further acknowledges gaps in these transitions, such as a lack of appropriate government policies, funds, and structures that make it difficult for workers, employers, and communities to move forward. The author offers recommendations to help achieve both Paris Agreement targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including making a strong commitment to social dialogue.

Report/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Jan 2018

Brown to Green: The G20 Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy

This report examines the progress made by the G20 countries in their transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies and addresses the need for a just transition.

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 > Regulation; Social and/or cultural impacts > Other
Keywords: decarbonization; compensation; national plans
By: Jan Burck, Jasmin Cantzler, Guy Cunliffe, Lena Donat, Sofia Gonzales-Zuñiga, Bill Hare, Niklas Höhne, Jiang Kejun, Gerd Leipold, Karan Mangotra, Enrique Maurtua Konstantinidis, Alexandre Magnan, Andrew Marquard, Bryce McCall, Yuji Mizuno, Erina Mursanti, Leonie Neier, Gereon tho Pesch, Hannah Schindler, Thomas Spencer, Fabby Tumiwa, Lola Vallejo, Leah Worrall, Charlene Watson, Shelagh Whitley, William Wills, Harald Winkler, Jorge Villarreal, Akihisa Kuriyama
Publishing Organization: Climate Transparency
Inter-governmental/international organization
Summary: This report from Climate Transparency reviews climate actions by the Group of Twenty (G20) states, assessing their transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies. The report questions whether the G20 countries are on track to meet Paris Agreement goals, documenting leaders and laggards.

The report finds that current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) would lead to a global temperature increase of around 3.2 degrees Celsius. The authors outline the progress made by G20 countries since the Paris Agreement based on several decarbonization indicators. They criticize nearly all G20 countries for not implementing climate mitigation policies more aggressively, calling on them to institute a 50% emissions cut by 2030 to reach Paris Agreement goals.

The report analyzes several just transition initiatives in G20 countries to identify lessons learned. In Canada, for example, a federal task force developed a just transition plan for coal workers and communities, and the Chinese government seeks to allocate $4.5 billion over the next three years to support the closure of small coal mines. Australia, on the other hand, negotiated a comprehensive agreement with the Victoria government and three privately owned power stations to reduce job losses rather than manage their effects.

Brief/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

May 2020

Mine Closure and Rehabilitation in South Africa: Activating Coalitions of the Willing for a Just Future

This brief discusses the outcome of two conferences organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Mining Dialogue 360 and proposes just solutions for South Africa’s future mine closures.

Geographic Scope
Sectors: Mining
Focus Areas: Economic diversification/restructuring > Economic development plans, Industry and/or sector assistance or plans; Employment > Job creation and/or equality; Environment and/or pollution > Human health, Nature; Government intervention > Regulation; Investment > Private finance
Keywords: rehabilitation; transformative mine closures; community inclusion; coronavirus
By: David Perkins, Tracey Cooper, Louise Scholtz, Khodani Mulaudzi
Publishing Organization: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Inter-governmental/international organization
Summary: This brief presents the challenges, outcomes, and suggested solutions resulting from two conferences that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Mining Dialogue 360 held in Johannesburg and Cape Town in December 2019 and January 2020, respectively. The discussions focused on two central themes: ways to strengthen existing policies and legislation regulating mine closures in South Africa and the role of land rehabilitation in supporting a just transition.

An orderly process of mine closures and land rehabilitation in South Africa is still far from reality despite existing legislation. This brief denounces the incoherence in existing policies and the government’s inability to enforce them. The authors call for regulatory reform, greater transparency, and a strict enforcement of laws penalizing non-compliance.

The paper argues in favor of greater community inclusion to ensure transformative mine closure and rehabilitation processes that are in the best interest of the fossil fuel–dependent communities. The authors see early planning as the best approach to successfully shifting to a post-mining, sustainable economy. However, they remain skeptical that South Africa can oversee such a transformation due to the lack of basic mechanisms such as multi-stakeholder cooperation.

Report/Definitions and Concepts; Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations

Jan 2019

Solidarity and Just Transition: Summary Report of Actions

This report summarizes the priorities of Poland’s presidency of the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and provides recommendations to help advance just transitions and solidarity strategies.

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 > Regulation; Inequality and/or poverty > Gender inequality, Other; Investment > Other; Resilience; Social and/or cultural impacts > Other
Keywords: solidarity; inclusive transitions; sustainable production and consumption; Solidarity and Just Transition Silesia Declaration
Publishing Organization: Bureau of COP24 Presidency, Poland Ministry of the Environment
Government, Inter-governmental/international organization
Summary: This report summarizes Poland’s presidency of the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) and its focus on “People and Climate – Solidarity and Just Transition.” The report aims to inspire dialogue among governments, the private sector, and civil society on practical implementation of solidarity (defined as collaborative global efforts to tackle climate change) and just transitions.

The report calls for a unified approach to tackle both climate and social well-being and urges policymakers to be proactive in adopting strategies based on inclusive dialogue and planning processes. It encourages stakeholders to anticipate and promote changes through economic development, skillset training, and investment.

The report includes recommendations on how to advance just transition and solidarity strategies by incorporating region- and sector-specific approaches. Such strategies should engage many actors, including national, regional, and municipal governments, as well as workers, civil society, businesses, youth, and women.