Despite slow progress to date, several energy policy experts consulted by news outlet Energy Monitor see the Just Energy Transition Partnership as the most significant energy transition financial mechanism that has emerged globally. These experts consider them as valuable partnerships that bring together strong public financiers to advance a just energy transition.

The delay of Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan is an opportunity for the government to ensure greater transparency and public participation in the drafting of the plan, according to observers of the energy sector. Concerns exist particularly in relation to the fund allocations, the participation of Indigenous and local communities, and the low proportion of grants in discussion.

New research published in the journal Nature Communications shows that location is a relevant barrier in the United States for achieving a just energy transition. While most fossil fuel workers have similar skills to those required in the emerging clean energy industry, the study found that the fossil fuel workforce tends not to be based in regions where the number of green jobs is expected to grow. The authors conclude that incentives need to be developed by policy-makers to encourage either fossil fuel workers to relocate or green industry to settle in fossil fuel extraction regions.

The National Union of Mineworkers, which represents the largest number of workers of any union at South Africa’s state-owned electricity utility Eskom, has called for the suspension of the USD 8.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership as it demands more consultation on Eskom’s transition plan. This follows the release of a report by the Presidential Climate Commission that places the blame for poor communication and a lack of consultation with workers and communities around the closure of the Komati coal-fired power plant in 2022 on the government. The report indicates that money put aside for community development was not adequately invested in communities and that the engagements before the closure of the power plant fell short of being inclusive and participatory.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has requested financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants under the institution’s Energy Transition Mechanism. This mechanism allows power purchase agreements to be shortened and plants to be closed up to a decade earlier than planned. It integrates just transition into the mechanism to minimise negative socio-economic impacts. Indonesia’s request follows an initial agreement to jointly explore the early retirement of a 660 MW coal-fired power plant, a move expected to cost USD 250-350 million.

Philanthropic donors are becoming increasingly influential in accelerating just energy transitions in low- and middle-income countries. The IKEA Foundation is the latest example, with its newly launched 4-year, USD 20-million plan that aims to help make the energy transitions in Indonesia, South Africa, and Vietnam fair and equitable for impacted communities.

Nearly 1 million jobs in the coal industry will disappear globally by 2050 due to the expected closure of hundreds of labour-intensive mines, with China and India facing the brunt of the losses. This is the finding of new research from U.S.-based think tank Global Energy Monitor. Most of the mines set to close have no plans to move to a post-coal economy, meaning governments must ensure workers do not suffer in the energy transition.

The Netherlands and Denmark collectively pledged USD 333 million to support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership, with more than 50% offered as grants. These pledges add to existing commitments of USD 8.5 billion made by the European Union, Germany, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom in 2021 and could give renewed momentum to the agreement that has only seen slow progress to date.

The Czech government formally approved a draft revision of the Czech National and Energy Climate Plan after it had already committed to this date in early 2022. As part of the plan, emphasis will be on strengthening nuclear resources via the construction of new reactors and increasing the share of renewables to 40% by 2030 and 60% by 2040. Various green groups expressed their reservations about the plan as it does not meet European Union targets for renewables and energy efficiency and lacked public involvement during the drafting of the document.

Human rights activists are calling for ongoing negotiations on the Just Energy Transition Partnership that the Vietnam government signed onto at the end of 2022 to be put on hold following the detainment of environmental activists and civil society members in Vietnam in recent years. In September, Ngo Thi To Bhien, executive director of the Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition, was the sixth Vietnamese environmentalist working in energy to be detained since mid-2021, prompting activists to call on the international funding group to ensure that a strong rights-based safeguard policy—specific to the Just Energy Transition Partnership—is put in place.