Submission to the Work Programme on Just Transition pathways referred to in the relevant paragraphs of decision 1/CMA.4

The COP27 decision to establish the Work Programme on Just Transition (JTWP) was a welcome development that also serves as an urgently-needed confidence building measure between Parties to the Paris Agreement.

The JTWP presents an opportunity to holistically assess, design and scale up pathways to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement in a just and equitable manner that is relevant to all sectors and encompasses all socioeconomic dimensions of climate change.

This submission aims to support the work of the JTWP by providing recommendations on its necessary priorities and objectives, drawing on work from the Grantham Research Institute, including its Climate Change Laws of the World database, its just transition and sustainable finance research themes, and its work as the academic partner of the Assessing Sovereign Climate-related Opportunities and Risks (ASCOR) project.

Key recommendations

To enable transition pathways to be pursued in an inclusive, affordable and sustainable manner in line with human rights and labour standards, the JTWP should focus on the following priorities:

• Complement existing work streams under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
• Inform national just transition pathways.
• Support the development of sectoral just transition pathways.
• Enable the integration of just transition into investment decision-making.
• Advance international cooperation to deliver just transition pathways.
• Ensure that just transition actions have integrity and impact.

The JTWP should consider the following aspects in its institutional arrangements:

• Include an expert/advisory committee to the work programme with adequate representatives from affected stakeholders to provide and advise parties with contextual information and on the design of the pathways.
• Recognise and engage with existing climate justice and just transition-focused guidelines both within and outside the UN processes.
• Establish an annual ministerial round table on just transition that legitimises the work of the JTWP with sufficient high-level commitment to implementation at the national level.
• Establish a system of monitoring and reporting to the COP on an annual basis, with participation from Parties and non-Party stakeholders, and stakeholder constituencies.