Ensuring ‘just’ in the Just Energy Transition Partnerships
6 Dec
16:30-17:15 GST
To meet the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 7 for clean and affordable energy, investment flows to emerging markets and developing economies need to increase sevenfold by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) model is one pathway to mobilize capital from countries in the Global North to coal-dependent or middle-income countries to accelerate progress toward a net zero carbon future while addressing the employment and social impacts of the transition. Over the past two years, South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Senegal have authored ambitious country roadmaps for a sustainable future and reached agreements with G7 partner countries to mobilize financial resources to support those plans. The hope is that both the "just" and "transition" goals in JETPs can be realized. Ensuring that the transition is just is key to its success, including protecting workers and communities from job losses, reducing air and water pollution from fossil fuel plants, developing transparency requirements and ensuring equitable access to financing. To what extent are the current JETP deals effectively supporting a just transition at the country and community level? Are the JETPs a scalable framework for just mitigation and adaptation investments in emerging markets and developing economies?