The European Union Programme EUROsociAL+ participates in a meeting to address the role of a Just Transition in future scenarios of ecological transformation, organised by the EU benchmark programme for climate change EUROCLIMA+
Within the framework of the Joint Regional Event, Climate action in times of crisis.On Thursday, 29 October, to promote a sustainable recovery post COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, a meeting supported by Euroclima+, IDB, UNDP and the LEDS LAC Platform was held. It was the Just Transition session: future transformation scenarios, organised by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Policies (FIIAPP) as the implementing agency of the EUROCLIMA+ programme, together with the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB and the LEDS LAC platform; and which had the participation of the European Union Programme EUROsociAL+.
The session aimed to share the state of progress in terms of policies, strategies and action programmes in the area of Just Transition in the Spanish and Latin American spheres, highlighting the key role of JT to inform climate action and a post-pandemic green recovery.
The Just Transition approach can help drive climate action in the current pandemic context, against the risk that the pressing need for economic reactivation overshadows other equally urgent goals. By linking the environmental, social and economic agendas, this vision allows us to identify shared goals and enhance synergies. Its emphasis on equity and the employment aspect can achieve greater social acceptance and political momentum, as well as essential financial resources to promote the profound structural changes required by the climate challenge.
For their part, long-term strategies can help governments manage the social impacts of decarbonisation and ensure a just and inclusive transition (IDB and DDPLAC, 2019). Well managed, the transition to a zero-emission economy is not only vital in avoiding climate disaster, it can also stimulate a sustainable and inclusive economic revival. But this is not going to happen automatically, it is necessary to anticipate changes and adopt policy measures that are timely and effective.
The session featured an introductory presentation by Julián Martínez, representative of the Just Transition Institute of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain, who shared the progress made in incorporating the just transition in public policies to combat climate change in Spain. The presentation was followed by a panel that included Felipe Diaz, representative from the Climate Change Office of the Chilean Ministry of the Environment, who presented the Just Transition’s integration in its NDC and in its long-term climate strategies; Oscar Fabián Riomaña, Deputy Director of Labour Analysis, Monitoring and Forward-Thinking from the Labour Ministry of Colombia, shared news on the progress in promoting green employment; Ana Belén Sánchez, regional specialist in green employment at the ILO-Mexico headquarters, who presented contributions integrating the just transition into public policies; Peggy Martinello, Director of the Public Administration and Social Affairs area of the FIIAPP Foundation, and on behalf of EUROsociAL+, who presented the importance of integrating the social, climate and economic agenda; andAdrien Voigt-Schildt, Senior Climate Change Economist at the IDB which highlighted the need to integrate the just transition into the post-COVID recovery.
More than 90 people followed the presentations and, at the end, were able to take part in exchanges with the speakers. The conclusions taken from the session will be published shortly.
Fuente: EUROCLIMA+
