Just Transition – a Fairness Discourse for Enhancing Adaptation and Improving Social Resilience

The fairness discourse in international law has a new interlocutory face—the concept of just transition. A Just transition promises better futures for all, based on ambitious mitigation, enhancing adaptation and improving social resilience amidst climate disruption and underlying vulnerabilities. Our theory of change is that just transitions depend on the empowerment of women and youth to lead societies into a sustainable, equitable and fairer future.

The historical roots of the concept lie in the alliances forged between Labour Organizations and environmental justice groups in the 1990 and are reflected in the preamble of the Paris Agreement, where reference is made to the “imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities”. CMA4 in Sharm El-Sheikh launched the “Pathways to Just Transition Work Programme”, providing initially a forum for discussion of pathways to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The concept of just transitions in international law is both mature and novel. In its maturity, it presumes a community and captures distinct claims of emerging and gradually solidifying fairness in international law, dating back to the work of Thomas Franck. In its novelty as a UNFCCC work program, it empowers societies to conceptualize transitions at a global scale that encapsulate the mature fairness discourse, centred on legitimacy and equity, connected with implementable solutions that account for the critical role of law in managing consequential effects of transformational societal change. The necessary and inevitable societal change must be based on the agreement of participants in the transition, procedurally and substantively. Our panel addresses these novel elements of just transitions through discourse with stakeholders that are most affected by climate change and challenged by the impacts of climate change and the requirements of a just transition.

A brief overview of the event:

Professor Petra Minnerop (Moderator)
   Professor of International Law, Durham University, UK.

Professor Minnerop started with a few introductory remarks and then introduced the panellists. She conveyed her gratitude by thanking the speakers and guests representing a range of expertise and thought leadership - in the panel but also this room. Professor Minnerop highlighted the importance and the concrete mandate of the COPs as spelt out in Article 7 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She offered a brief overview of the previous advancements up to the outcome of the first global stocktake (decision 1/CMA.5). While explaining the concept note of the event, she also stated that "women represent not only are they half of the world’s population, they also educate the next generation. Their choices and knowledge define all our futures. But we must enable them to choose.

Additionally, the term just transitions has its roots in the work of the International Labour Organisation, and it has been linked in the social science literature to the Energy Transition which is, however, a narrower concept. The Paris Agreement mentions the term just transition only in the preamble where it refers to the imperatives of a just transition of the work force. This work programme seems to have also widened the focus, which could promise more fundamental change.

Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu
   Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda.

Hon. Ruth Ssentamu opened her speech by highlighting Durham University's valued partnership with Uganda through Durham CSDLP.  She offered an eye-opening view of the vulnerability of the Ugandan population. She highlighted that Uganda expects to replace charcoal and fire with Gas; however, access to clean energy is crucially required. A just transition should not be abrupt. We must allow room for adaptation and provide accessible provisions. The Ugandan Government has donated land, provided subsidies to communities and is also trying to work towards just energy transition at a larger scale. While highlighting the importance of communication in the COPs processes, she emphasised that COP offers a platform for the vulnerable counties and communities to raise their voices. 

Professor Laura Marsilliani 
   Professor of Economics, Durham University, UK. 

Laura Marsiliani's remark focused on the role of carbon markets's revenues from the auctioning of carbon permits for just transitions. She offered the best practice example of the EU ECT that has raised billions in auctioning revenues since its inception. According to the latest EU ETS regulation 2023, these revenues should be fully (100%) allocated towards the realisation of climate mitigation and adaptation and clean energy projects. Germany is leading the way in raising auctioning revenues. Laura highlighted the link between the ETS and the newly established Climate Social Fund to be deployed for the period 2026-32 with the objective of supporting the groups mostly affected by the green transitions such as poor households. For the latter high energy prices and the ensuing shift towards a green economy resulting from more stringent carbon markets means less disposable income for non-energy expenditure and fewer employment opportunities in carbon-intensive sectors. Poor households are also those facing financial constraints when it comes to borrowing for clean teach such as heat pumps. It is expected that the SCF would mobilise at least EUR 86.7 billion over the 2026-2032 period and contribute to the goal that none is left behind in the transition towards a green economy.

Professor Gregg Walker
   Professor of Environmental Sciences, Oregon State University USA.

Professor Walker (a hosting partner from International Environmental Communication Association) highlighted the importance of communication related to Just Transition which covers a wide range of communication functions across the development spectrum, such as information, public relations, social marketing, community voice, etc. He stated that we should empower every interested party (men, women, children) in this idea of just transition. Just transition is a principle, process, and practice. The practice of just transition means that the people most affected by pollution should be in the leadership of crafting policy solutions. He highlighted the acronym FAAITH to highlight some principles: F- Fairness, A - Accountability, A - Access, I - Inclusion, T  Transparency, and H - Honesty.  If we adhere to all these principles, individuals trust one another, trust the process, and believe their voices are heard. People will support decisions that differ from their preferences if they have a voice in crafting them. In addition, he highlighted the 4-D Pathway in relation to involving people in a communication perspective: First D - Discovery, Second D- Dialogue - Non-judgemental Peer Learning Opportunity, Third D- Deliberation - Set priorities, Allocate resources, Argue constructively, and Fourth D- Decisions - Creating and implementing decisions - Where voices matter.

Ms Danielle Yeow
   Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore.

Danielle emphasised that implementation for climate projects needs to be inclusive.  Just transition will require a vast increase in renewable energy and the mineral demand for clean energy technologies is double today and we need an affordable supply of transitional minerals. Additionally, there is a real need to properly manage this supply chain and avoid perpetuating this commodity dependence. Critical minerals provide a critical opportunity to grow a stable economy and boost revenues—but only if appropriately managed. The focus of this panel is about empowering women and children. Foundational aspects must be included - Implementing existing human rights laws and performing human rights due diligence, assessment, and engagement is also essential.

Ms Ruta Trainyte 
    International Environmental Communication Association.

Ruta joined the panel as one of the hosting partners from the International Environmental Communication Association. She offered valuable insights from Luthivanian perspectives on the themes of just transition, sustainability communication, and knowledge of sustainability reporting. 

Ms Emily Faint
   Net Zero Policy Manager at the British Standards Institution (BSI).

Emily offered insights into and encouraged joining the national standards body, the British Standards Institution. She highlighted that the point of your national standards body is to represent your needs in international and national standards, essentially, international standards on climate and environmental issues. What role do standards play in just transition? The International Standards System is a network of government-appointed standard bodies worldwide. These bodies convey the needs of business and civil society through an international process. Standards are required to build trust, so other countries, including assessment bodies, support them. For instance, if a company is audited for sustainable practices, you can trust if that audit is coming from a recognised institution. To achieve the goal of just transition, it is crucial to participate in these forums. The role of international standards is to help scale action and ensure that we govern the world effectively by consent. We have to move our way down to top-down institutions. We need bottom-up inclusive governments to analyse what these systems involve.