Global Leaders Step Up Efforts To Enable A Just Climate Transition Despite Challenges

By Jean Pierre Afadhali

The first high-level ministerial roundtable on just transition took place at the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates earlier this week.

The work programme on just transition pathways, which was established at COP27 last year, is meant to assess, design and scale up pathways to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement in a way that is just and equitable for all, and leaves no one behind.

“The just transition means different things to different people depending on who they are and where they live,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in an address to the roundtable. “But one thing is certain: we cannot and will not leave those with less power and marginalized groups out of the picture. Solutions to the climate crisis are meant to be inclusive.”

“They must ensure that everyone - women, indigenous peoples and youth, in all their diversity - have equal opportunities to benefit from these transitions,” Stiell added.

According to the United the Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the purpose of the roundtable was to provide direction and recommendations for the work programme on just transition.

More than 90 high-level representatives of Parties, including ministers, vice-ministers, climate envoys, and heads of delegation participated in the meeting.

The high-level discussion was co-facilitated by Minister Roselinda Soipan Tuya from Kenya and Minister Eamon Ryan from Ireland with keynote addresses by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President of COP 28, and Stiell.

According to a UN statement, parties at the roundtable “highlighted the need for a holistic, inclusive, and practical approach to the just transition.”

The statement adds: “They recognized the importance of considering unique circumstances and balancing environmental, economic, and social factors.”

Solutions suggested underscored the significance of a balanced approach that considers national specifics, stakeholder involvement, appropriate financial mechanisms, and an understanding of diverse sectoral and communal impacts.

Disagreements

However, at the ongoing Cop 28, there are still disagreements on key issues such as steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These huddles include either phasing out or down fossil fuels, that are responsible for global warming and other extreme weather events.

"We need COP to deliver a bullet train to speed up climate action, “Simon Stiell said in a statement. “We can only overcome the climate crisis by ditching business-as-usual.”

Meanwhile, Parties highlighted that the work programme on just transition should focus on several key areas, including building international cooperation, facilitating national policy acceptance, involving multiple stakeholders, addressing financial and economic aspects, and ensuring inclusivity, equity, and ambitious and effective transitions that leave no one behind.

At Sharm el-Sheikh I said we would do things differently.  So over the last year, on loss & damage, we opted for an innovative approach - a Transitional Committee - which drove forward progress much faster, further noted the UN Climate chief

The operationalization of the loss and damage at the beginning of COP 28 has been hailed as a major achievement despite gaps in the fund’s structures and implementation.

According to Stiell, the win on Loss and Damage in Dubai gave the COP a spring in its step. But it is just a start.

“Now all governments must give their negotiators clear marching orders: we need highest ambition, not point-scoring or lowest common denominator politics,” stated the UN Climate chief.

From 30 Nov-Dec 2023 more than 70,000 delegates are attending the global Climate conference, including the member states (or Parties) of the UNFCCC. Business leaders, young people, climate scientists, activists, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, and various other experts and stakeholders are also among the participants.