We have seen stalled climate action, widening inequality, and people left behind. At COP27, the establishment of the Just Transition Work Programme was a crucial step toward putting justice at the heart of climate action. But words alone cannot hold back the tide. –Open letter on Just Transition
BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 14 2025 (IPS) – An open letter by more than 1,000 organizations from 106 countries, including trade unions, Indigenous leaders, feminist and youth movements, Afro-descendants, peasant groups, environmental advocates, disability networks and community organizations, to all States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is calling for a people-centered Just Transition.
“Ten years ago, the Paris Agreement carried a promise: that climate action would protect people’s rights and livelihoods–placing the effort of transition on those most responsible for the crisis,” the letter says.
“The commitment to implement a Just Transition implied centering workers, communities, and Indigenous Peoples–to build a future rooted in rights, fairness, equity and solidarity. It was also a call for unprecedented international cooperation so that every country could find new pathways to social and economic justice within planetary boundaries.”
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“A decade later, that promise remains unfulfilled.”
“Instead,” the letter continues, “we have seen stalled climate action, widening inequality, and people left behind. At COP27, the establishment of the Just Transition Work Programme was a crucial step toward putting justice at the heart of climate action. But words alone cannot hold back the tide.”
Activists urge the global community to join the blue river in support of environmental conservation and preservation. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
The Just Transition Work Programme is a UN initiative under the UNFCCC to help countries achieve climate goals while ensuring the transition to a low-carbon economy is fair, equitable, and socially just. It provides a platform for collaborative dialogue and identifies overarching principles for countries to develop their own national transition plans, focusing on social and economic impacts like job creation, worker protections, social security, and human rights.
In this context, the proposed Belém Action Mechanism (BAM) for Just Transition, a new UNFCCC financial and coordination framework, presents a significant obstacle at COP30. The mechanism has divided negotiations, with the G77 (a coalition of developing countries) plus China facing off against developed countries, including the UK and other Global North nations. The G77+China position aligns with that of the civil society and trade unions in the context of the Just Transition.
BAM aims to turn the ideas of Just Transition into a clear and practical plan under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement by finding obstacles, chances, and international help needed to achieve the transition in different sectors, countries, and communities.
“We are following the Just Transition Work Programme negotiations. And what we are seeing in those negotiations is that a lot of countries still do not want to phase out fossil fuels,” said Kuda Manjonjo from Power Shift Africa, which is a climate and energy think tank that provides policy analysis, advocacy, and communications from an African perspective.
The argument is that their economies need time to phase out, he told IPS. “I think that’s very reasonable in terms of having a just transition. We cannot blame, especially African countries, who did not cause the problem and are basically in a situation where they are locked in. But they still need to have a transition. That is what is important.”
“For Africa,” he continues, “We know the facts are simple; renewable energy is cheaper. So, the question is, how do we transition in an equitable and just way, not only for the countries but also for the people?”
It is crucial to secure financing and funding to support just transition efforts, adaptation, and the shift away from fossil fuels. This is what they were fighting for in Baku (COP29).
He clarifies that while they do not “support” using fossil fuels, the path to using fewer in Africa needs support.
“We are not receiving sufficient support from the Global North countries for this transition. The pathway for a just transition is currently being negotiated. Having a global mechanism that allows and supports a just transition is extremely important.”
“The Belém Action Mechanism will basically allow for knowledge sharing, coordination, and, hopefully in the future, resource mobilization that then supports this transition. The G7 and China agreed to a mechanism like that yesterday, and we hope the EU, UK, and others will support it too.”
Building on COP-adopted Just Transition principles, the BAM provides what has been “missing” in coordination, clarity, and support to ensure the transition is equitable, inclusive, and adequately funded. Furthermore, by anchoring the Just Transition firmly within the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, the BAM ensures that the pathways are socially and climate-aligned–while reinforcing the principles of Equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
Climate Action Network International’s Senior Advisor on Just Transition, Anabella Rosemberg, said that the G77+China have taken a significant step forward. The G77+China’s call for a Just Transition Mechanism signifies a significant shift from dialogue to implementation. After years of empty talk, developing countries are demanding what this process has so far failed to deliver–a real mechanism to make Just Transition happen.”
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“This is the majority of the world saying: enough dialogue, it’s time for delivery.”‘
On Tuesday, 11 November, the COP30 Presidency held an open dialogue with representatives of civil society linked to the UNFCCC to discuss ways to accelerate the implementation of a just energy transition. On this same day in Belém, dozens of activists linked to the Climate Action Network (CAN) protested in the corridors of the Blue Zone–an area where diplomatic negotiations take place.
Their position is that done right, a Just Transition would lead to decent jobs, secure livelihoods, food and energy sovereignty, safer communities, and a livable future for all. They further emphasized that if ignored, the Just Transition could become the next excuse for delay, exclusion, and corporate capture.
Against this backdrop, in a session attended by the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago, it was stressed that “climate action is not only negotiated by governments but is built through cooperation among peoples. The Open Dialogue embodies this spirit, bringing together Parties, civil society, and all constituencies to listen, exchange ideas, and co-create solutions.”
This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.
IPS UN Bureau Report
