Expert Exchange: How to translate just transition principles into policy frameworks

Despite growing political consensus that a just transition is needed in order to realise a transition to climate neutrality, its implementation has so far faced significant challenges.

National policy frameworks developed over the last years were a crucial first step to set stones in motion but also have been criticised for not being ambitious enough, lacking consistency or merely addressing symptoms rather than underlying structural problems. 

The countries that are now in the stage of drafting such frameworks therefore should consider the lessons learnt from previous processes, and crucially, not only focus on the strategy and targets alone, but also the underlying governance process to develop the framework.   

The latest expert exchange session organised by the Innovation Regions for a Just Energy Transition (IKI JET) project will therefore focus on practical learnings from the last years’ policy-making processes related to just transition framework development in Global South countries. The goal is to exchange learnings about the levers of change, combining expert input and a facilitated discussion with participants from project partner countries.

Panelists and participants will be asked to reflect on three dimensions: (1) What has worked and why? (2) What has (consistently) not worked and why? (3) What do policy-makers and international development cooperation actors need to change in the future to better support just transition implementation?

The discussion will be framed by an input presentation of Wuppertal Institute’s update of its flagship report “Just Transition Toolbox for Coal Regions”, providing latest guidance on just transition framework development processes and recommendations for just transition implementation based on the last years of working on this topic. 

Speakers: 

Jesse Burton, E3G/University of Cape Town, South Africa 

Tselmegsaikhan Lkhagva, IRIM, Mongolia 

Balgis Inayah, Dala Institute, Indonesia 

Moderated by Jannis Beutel, Wuppertal Institute / IKI JET Project