A handbook to strategic national transition planning: supplementary guidance and examples

Authors: Mark Manning, Riona Bowhay, Megan Bowman, Peter Knaack, Lisa Sachs, Agnieszka Smolenska, Fiona Stewart, Thomas Tayler, Perrine Toledano and Harald Walkate

Strategic, credible and suitably ambitious national transition planning could enhance confidence and trust in countries’ climate and sustainability commitments and mitigate legal challenge – steering a fair transition to net zero, while advancing climate resilience, sustainable development and energy security goals. This Handbook is designed to guide government decision-makers as they develop national transition plans and processes.

The Handbook provides guidance, reference material and practical, in-depth examples across five action areas of recommendations. The principles behind these recommendations are introduced in an accompanying policy report, Taking the lead on climate action and sustainable development: recommendations for strategic national transition planning at the centre of a whole-of-system climate response. The two reports are designed to be read together. 

Structure of the Handbook

• Part 1 provides context from the policy report and a brief overview of the authors’ recommendations for national transition planning, to help readers navigate the guidance in the Handbook.
• Part 2 provides guidance on each recommendation, including practical in-depth examples from around the world. The recommendations are set out beneath five action areas, which are aligned with frameworks from the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) – see figure below.
• The Appendix provides two case studies of countries that are already on the national transition planning path, mapping key elements of Chile’s long-term low-emissions development strategy (LT-LEDS) and South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan to the recommendations. Other countries can leverage examples such as these to inform their own national transition planning. 

Key considerations and action areas for national transition planning