The Just Transition Work Programme was one of the most politically charged tracks at the Bonn Climate Conference.
Developing countries want the proposed just transition mechanism to support finance, capacity-building and technology transfer for nationally determined transition pathways.
The African Group and LMDCs linked just transition to poverty eradication, development rights and access to grant-based, highly concessional finance.
Developed countries, including the EU, UK, Norway and Japan, framed the mechanism mainly as a platform for knowledge-sharing and workforce-focused transition policies.
The United Arab Emirates Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) is a critical procedural track that emerged from the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Dubai in 2023. It sits at the heart of a difficult political question: how do countries cut emissions without leaving workers, communities and entire economies stranded?
This question has continued to shape negotiations. COP30 in Belém last year was a crucial moment, with countries deciding to establish a just transition mechanism. At the recently concluded Bonn Climate Conference, also known as the 64th session of the Subsidiary Bodies, the focus of the JTWP shifted to finalising the context, scope, purpose and governance through which the mechanism would be operationalised.
Developing countries said the mechanism must be functional by COP31 in Türkiye later this year. One of their overarching demands is that it should facilitate the means of implementation needed to plan nationally determined just transition pathways. This means addressing financial flows from developed to developing countries, as well as capacity-building, technology development and technology transfer.
The African Group has consistently referred to the quality of finance as a major barrier to its transition pathways and has advocated for grant-based, highly concessional finance and non-debt instruments. The African Group, alongside the Like-Minded Developing Countries bloc, also framed the mechanism in the context of poverty eradication and the right to development for developing countries.
Developed countries, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Japan, have taken a different view of the scope and purpose of the just transition mechanism. Their framing is grounded more in the workforce dimensions of a just transition, with a focus on social protection policies for workers.
They argued that mapping existing institutional initiatives would help avoid duplication under the JTWP, including in any initiatives developed under the mechanism itself. They have often sought to limit the mechanism’s scope to a knowledge-sharing platform that can highlight the work on just transition happening across the world.
The UK argued that the just transition mechanism is not about finance or means of implementation, and that tying its purpose to these issues risks fragmenting the existing mandate under the international finance architecture.
The JTWP was one of the most politically charged agenda items in Bonn this year. This was reflected in the fact that countries met at least eight times to debate different aspects of it.
The informal note divided the broader work programme into three parts: implementation of the work programme, terms of review, and the process for operationalising the just transition mechanism. By the end of the negotiations, the needle had moved slightly, with the co-chairs’ summary passed at the final plenary session.
This means countries now have a clearer understanding of each other’s positions and of the key issues that remain unresolved. The context, scope, purpose and governance of the mechanism will all be central to whether it can become a useful tool for facilitating just transition globally.