Tackling climate change requires urgent structural changes in how goods and services are produced and resources are managed around the world. Some of these changes will have profound consequences for communities and local economies — not least in places, where the livelihoods and government revenues today, are intertwined with unsustainable practices.
While the transition to a green economy is expected to create new economic and social development opportunities, it will also pose new risks. How those risks and opportunities are mitigated and distributed among different populations and regions will determine if the transitions to low-carbon and resilient economies is just. A just transition will also depend on the process of how the transition is conceived and implemented, as well as who has the agency to shape decision-making.
The Climate Investment Funds’ (CIF) Just Transition Initiative (JTI), delivered as part of the CIF’s Evaluation and Learning Initiative, is producing original research and analysis on just transition, including case studies, research papers, commentaries, and podcasts. It has developed a framework that covers the broad range of definitions and perspectives on the concept of “just transition” (see the full JTI original research resource collection).
The JTI has also compiled a resource library to help users locate key research materials and policy guidance related to just transition.
CIF is seeking to facilitate learning and global collaboration by building a community of practitioners and fostering knowledge exchanges through online and in-person events with partners exploring pathways to supporting the just transition in developing countries. See below to find out more about our upcoming and past events.
A major barrier to a just transition is the upfront planning required. Dialogues and preparations need to begin years in advance in order to tackle the range of challenges and activities requiring a diverse set of expertise and extensive stakeholder involvement.
CIF is developing a Just Transition Toolbox that highlights planning steps, as well as relevant tools and case examples that can help work through this complexity and these diverse challenges in a systematic way. CIF will support the piloting of some of these tools and facilitate South-South learning between countries, partners, and key stakeholders engaged in planning for a just transition.
As this work develops, updates and materials will be posted here.
Please email us if you have any questions regarding the JTI and/or have suggestions for collaboration. To stay up-to-date with all of the JTI work, sign up for our CIF quarterly knowledge newsletter.