Usage and Content Guide

Brief introduction to Just Transition in Latin America

Within the framework of the Paris Agreement and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries have begun their path towards decarbonization. Currently, the sectors with the highest emissions in the region are: energy (43%), agriculture (27%), land use change and forestry (20%), waste (6.1%) and industrial processes (4.5%). It should be noted that this transition implies profound and complex changes that, without adequate planning, could aggravate existing inequalities. For this reason, the concept of just transition has become an indispensable foundation for achieving carbon neutrality in an equitable and inclusive manner.

Several LAC countries have initiated their just transition processes, in many cases focusing on the energy sector, given its weight in the emissions matrix. However, some have expanded their focus to other strategic sectors. Costa Rica, for example, developed its National Decarbonization Plan, which includes several sectors, including AFOLU. Chile, for its part, launched its National Socio-ecological Just Transition Strategy and is currently working on one for the water sector.

While efforts around Just and Equitable Transition in Latin America are primarily directed at the energy sector, it is expected to extend to other key sectors, such as AFOLU. In this context, the JET tool plays a crucial role in accompanying and evaluating the formulation of projects, policies and initiatives, ensuring that they are just and equitable.

Below is a description of what type of information each module collects and examples from Latin America and the Caribbean related to each one are presented.

JET Tool Modules

1. Territorial and Socioeconomic Context

This module collects key information about the specific characteristics of each policy or project to be evaluated. Its purpose is to provide an overview that helps users better understand the scope of their evaluation. This allows them to clarify whether they are analyzing a policy as a whole, a specific program, or only certain aspects of a project, providing greater clarity about the focus of their analysis within the tool.

2. Definition of objectives, vision and baseline

This module provides a structured approach to setting clear objectives and establishing a shared vision that guides a just and equitable transition. It includes questions to collect baseline data -such as emissions, land use, and land ownership patterns- to comprehensively understand current conditions. This foundation allows stakeholders to align objectives and create a strategic roadmap for transition planning.

Module 2 Example:

Towards a just transition for Argentina: perspectives from government, workers and employers, PAGE Argentina

This document presents a comparison between the Policy Guidelines for a Just Transition of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and complementary studies carried out by the PAGE Alliance (Partnership for Action on Green Economy), with the aim of building a first vision on Just Transition as an opportunity for recovery for Argentina in the post-pandemic context.

One of the trade union sector's recommendations is that decarbonization and productive reconversion policies should focus on sectors with higher emissions such as: energy and transport; agriculture, livestock and forestry; construction, without neglecting the strategic sectors most vulnerable to job loss.

Simultaneously, it highlights the importance of prioritizing sectors with greater potential to sustain or generate employment, promoting new, decent and green jobs. This includes activities that guarantee universal access to food, housing, public services, health, education and energy. Among these sectors are cooperativism, social and popular economy, small and medium-scale agroecological production, public administration and health and education sectors, among others.

3. Stakeholder participation and inclusion

This module evaluates methods to include diverse stakeholders in the transition process, especially those most affected. It emphasizes engagement strategies that promote active participation in planning, decision-making and implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures, as well as risk management efforts, ensuring that the voices of all community sectors are heard and valued.

Module 3 Example:

Just Transition in the Agricultural and Agroindustrial sectors: Case study Cesar, Colombia, Guías Colombia

In this case study, the multi-stakeholder initiative Guías Colombia on Business, Human Rights (HR) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) developed a territorial dialogue in Cesar, Colombia with actors from the agricultural and agroindustrial sector. This dialogue emphasized the importance of bipartite or tripartite social dialogue to manage the impacts of climate action initiatives in the workplace, while highlighting the meaningful participation of people and communities in decision-making processes on just transition. This approach allows for better understanding of local perspectives and aligning strategies with the expectations and needs of affected communities.

4. Policies and institutional coordination

Focusing on the political landscape, this module analyzes enabling frameworks at the national and regional levels to achieve a just and equitable transition. These frameworks include policies, regulations and institutional structures that support the transition. It addresses inclusive planning processes, coordination mechanisms and essential policy assessments for creating cohesive strategies. The module also evaluates the potential impacts of the transition -employment, social and economic conditions, land use and environmental implications- highlighting risks and opportunities that should be quantified when possible.

Module 4 Examples:

Policy guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, International Labour Organization

In 2015, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the Policy Guidelines for a Just Transition, a document that provides guidance to governments and social partners to facilitate a just transition.

These guidelines structure the transition around nine policy areas, addressing environmental, economic and social sustainability:

Macroeconomic and growth policies
Industrial and sectoral policies
Business-related policies
Skills development
Occupational safety and health
Social protection
Active labor market policies
Rights
Social dialogue and tripartism

These guidelines highlight the importance of social dialogue at all stages of the process, promoting the formalization of dialogue mechanisms and structures that facilitate consensus among key actors. They also emphasize the need to ensure the protection of human rights, particularly the fundamental rights of workers, and to develop skills aligned with the needs of the transition, promoting training for green jobs and strengthening green business initiatives.

Additionally, the guidelines emphasize cooperation between governments, unions and employers, ensuring comprehensive planning that facilitates a just, inclusive and equitable transition for all involved.

Just transition in Argentina for the energy and AFOLU sectors in the period 2017-2021, Aneise, A.

The study analyzed the presence of just transition in Argentina's mitigation strategies and policies in the Energy and AFOLU sectors in the 2017-2021 period. The findings indicated growing involvement of interested actors in the climate agenda and in the sector's mitigation policies. However, just transition had not yet been considered as a relevant element within these strategies.

Despite this, the study identified key opportunities to strengthen the incorporation of just transition in the climate agenda in the future, through:

Long-term strategic planning instances, focused on more comprehensive economic and social objectives
Expansion of the tripartite dialogue approach, complementing it with more inclusive citizen participation. Civil society organizations can act as a key catalyst to promote just transition and strengthen its incorporation into policies.

5. Sustainable opportunities

This module allows evaluating whether the project or policy plan has clear objectives and strategies to apply mitigation and adaptation measures in the AFOLU sector, and whether it was built participatively, incorporating diverse perspectives and knowledge. Additionally, it examines to what extent such plan responds to the conditions, needs and opportunities of the territory, with emphasis on identifying risks and opportunities and their distribution among different population groups. In other words, it reviews that transition plans are inclusive and adapted to the challenges and opportunities of the sector.

Module 5 Examples:

National Decarbonization Plan 2018 - 2050 of Costa Rica, Bicentennial Government 2018-2022

In Costa Rica, just transition, centered on social and climate justice, has been consolidated as the central axis to maximize decarbonization and increase the country's resilience and prosperity. Since 2018, it has built a solid foundation for this process through the launch of the National Decarbonization Plan (PND 2018-2050), a roadmap that consolidates key actions to transform its economy.

The plan begins in a first stage called "foundations", in which a clear vision is established and urgent actions are defined to create the necessary conditions for a profound transformation. In these stages, spaces for exchange and consultation with various actors are fostered through bilateral meetings and workshops, allowing alignment of visions, identification of priorities and establishment of a reference framework for decarbonization planning.

From this process, the plan identified 10 decarbonization axes derived from 4 main emission sources: Energy, Industrial Processes, Waste and AFOLU. These axes define the essential paths for the transition and are complemented with key cross-cutting strategies. Among them, the "Financing Strategy and Investment Attraction for Transformation" and the strategic area "Economic for Stability and Inclusive Growth" stand out, both fundamental to ensure access to financing and a just and inclusive transition that addresses inequalities.

Additionally, the plan establishes policy packages designed to plan, enhance, finance and support change, while removing barriers to its adoption. This entire process is reinforced with a monitoring and follow-up plan, supported by multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional coordination within the government.

National Socio-ecological Just Transition Strategy, Ministry of Environment Chile

In 2024, Chile launched the evaluation of the National Socio-ecological Just Transition Strategy, a policy that is being built by the Ministry of Environment with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The strategy seeks to deliver guidelines, objectives and criteria to promote transformation and/or adaptation processes towards greater sustainability, contributing to the Social Pillar of Just Transition included in the 2020 Nationally Determined Contribution Update. As part of this work, the Tocopilla Socio-ecological Just Transition Plan was generated, which responds effectively and appropriately to the problems, needs and projections of the local community.

How to make a just transition, sector by sector, International Labour Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank

This chapter, published by the International Labour Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank, analyzes the sectors with high potential for job creation in the transition to net zero emissions. One of the sectors is AFOLU, where the need to strengthen capacities to ensure a just and equitable transition is highlighted.

The report recommends implementing training actions to increase rural population participation, promoting the establishment of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that provide competitive services, including green services, to the export agricultural sector and agri-food value chains.

Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of:

Strengthening social capital and farmers' organizations, to improve agricultural productivity, marketing and product differentiation.
Development of specific programs aimed at small family agriculture, with the objective of increasing productivity in a sustainable manner and improving access to information, inputs, services and product markets.

6. Equity, rights and social justice

This module evaluates strategies to mitigate adverse impacts and promote human rights within the framework of the transition. It highlights the importance of addressing labor, social, economic and environmental consequences, while identifying interventions to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in affected regions. By addressing these inequalities, stakeholders can feel empathy and commitment to social justice, ensuring a more equitable transition for all.

Module 6 Example:

A Just Transition to Agroecology, Fian International

This report analyzes just transition from the perspective of the right to food and nutrition, arguing that only a systemic, multi-sectoral and human rights-based approach can guarantee the transition towards a secure, sustainable and just future. Through the example of the food crisis and food systems, it demonstrates how just transitions must address growing socioeconomic inequalities.

The report maintains that a just transition must confront the inequalities, violence, dispossession and destruction of ecosystems generated by the current system. Therefore, it must be based on international human rights standards and frameworks, with the purpose of promoting, protecting and guaranteeing the human rights of all people. Additionally, it places special attention on the protection of marginalized groups (women, indigenous peoples, peasant communities), who face multiple forms of discrimination and exclusion.

7. Fair and inclusive financing.

This module explores the financial strategies and mechanisms that ensure the long-term sustainability of mitigation and adaptation initiatives. It evaluates financing options, such as public grants, private investments, community contributions, fiscal plans and financing models, such as public-private partnerships and green bonds, that guarantee resources for transition activities and foster resilience in changing economic and environmental conditions.

Module 7 Example:

Climate Change and Just Transition: A Guide for Investor Decision Making, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

This guide, published by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, establishes that investment strategies to address climate change must incorporate the full range of responsible investment dimensions: environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).

The document defines the incentives for decision making and the areas for investor action, among which stand out:

Contribution to social goals: integrating respect for international human rights and labor standards into their strategies.
Promotion of policies and alliances: Incorporating just transition into political dialogue at subnational, national and international levels, and fostering participation in place-based partnerships to drive concrete actions.
Learning and review: understanding the lessons learned and disseminating results to continuously improve the efficiency and effectiveness of just transition investments.

In the agriculture and land use sector, the guide proposes ensuring high social standards for workers, communities and farmers along complex value chains, with the aim of advancing towards zero deforestation and sustainable agriculture.

8. Monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement

This module is dedicated to accountability and covers monitoring systems to track the progress of transition initiatives. It emphasizes mechanisms to identify improvement opportunities and evaluate the impact of applied measures, ensuring that objectives are aligned with community needs and transition goals.

Module 8 Example:

Development of National Monitoring and Evaluation Systems for Adaptation: A Guide, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

This guide, developed by German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG), responds to the demand of decision makers on how to report and evaluate their work on climate change adaptation through Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).

The document establishes that adaptation M&E aims to track progress in the implementation of adaptation interventions and evaluate their impact on reducing vulnerability, strengthening adaptive capacity, and improving the general well-being of populations affected by climate change. In this context, national M&E must address key questions such as: What achievements have been made in the implementation of policies, plans, interventions or investments related to adaptation? And what are the results of those achievements?

The guide recommends that climate-sensitive sectors such as: agriculture, water or infrastructure, incorporate adaptation considerations in their strategies and plans, where adaptation M&E helps them by demonstrating progress and evaluating the results of implemented actions.