Some parties seem confused about the concept of Just Transition, so ECO thought it would give them a little history lesson, in collaboration with our friends at TUNGO. In 2015 the term ‘just transition’ landed in the Paris Agreement. Firmly fixed in the preamble, Parties agreed to ‘take into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities.’ This was a great win for trade unions representing workers worldwide who are affected by both the effects of climate policies as well as climate change impacts themselves.
The term ‘just transition’ was coined by labour and environmental activist Tony Mazzochi in the 1970s and has been built upon by the labour movement and trade unions ever since. The core has always been about securing workers’ rights and livelihoods and giving them a say in their changing future due to a transitioning economy.
Have Parties forgotten that after the Paris Agreement, the ILO defined the meaning of Just Transition more precisely in its ‘Just Transition Guidelines’, specifying that social dialogue (involving government, labour and employers), decent work, labour rights and social protection are key elements? With this, the ILO provided a solid framework for Parties to build just transition into further agreements and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
At first glance, this seems to be successful. Just transition is mentioned more and more each year, with this COP including a Just Transition Pavillion and a Just Transition Day. However, as more Parties reference the term, they seem to forget where it came from. This ‘jargonisation’ risks broadening it so that it is diluted and loses its meaning, or even that it becomes a ‘catch-all’ term used to describe any type of transition that just so happens to be convenient for a particular Party.
ECO is looking at you and your CCS plans- Saudi Arabia; at UAE and your “decarbonization plans”, and at your fossil fuel lobbyists trying to gas Africa. In this process we see the language expanding, blurring, being redefined and sometimes workers’ perspective being completely left out. This is extremely worrisome for the 210 million workers that need their rights firmly protected in the international agreements on climate change.
So ECO and TUNGO urgently stress: workers have always been, and need to remain, at the heart of agreements on just transition. We cannot allow this term to be hijacked by those that want to use it as glossy packaging to push their own, sometimes fossil friendly, agenda. ECO and TUNGO therefore urge Parties to be alert to any such attempts while finalizing the text and drafting the cover decision. Only with workers’ rights fully cemented can we have a just transition, instead of just a transition.