Thursday night ECO couldn’t sleep because of the excitement of going to the first Contact Group on the Work Programme on Just Transition Pathways (JTWP). ECO anticipated important discussions on how international cooperation will accelerate justice when implementing the Paris Agreement. Several Parties mentioned the need for a Just Transition based on human, labour, gender, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and social dialogue and inclusion. There was also consensus that the scope of the JTWP should cover the labour as well as the social and economic dimensions of the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Not bad for a first day.
However, ECO has had another sleepless night – but this time out of concern, as it seems that many Parties think Just Transition for workers and communities will happen by simply discussing their domestic experiences. The JTWP can’t stay there. It needs to recommend decisions and show how multilateralism can improve peoples’ lives.
A dialogue without decisions is like dating long-term without proposing. COP28 must put a ring on it.