JUST TRANSITION COMPASS A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION AND INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION

The Just Transition Compass serves as a non-prescriptive guide to move Just Transitions from high-level dialogue to concrete implementation. It defines core principles of distributive, procedural, and restorative justice, identifies systemic barriers to national implementation—such as limited subnational capacity and siloed finance—and analyzes the political tensions within the UNFCCC's Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP). The report advocates for a permanent international coordination mechanism to align fragmented efforts, manage the cross-border impacts of unilateral trade measures like the EU's CBAM, and mobilize private capital through sustainable finance taxonomies.

• Just Transitions are grounded in four common elements: advancing structural changes aligned with Paris Agreement goals, fair distribution of burdens and benefits (distributive justice), centering meaningful stakeholder participation (procedural justice), and leveraging change to address existing societal injustices (restorative justice).
• National implementation of Just Transitions is hindered by political economy barriers, where governments avoid early planning to prevent voter perception that they are abandoning current workers, as well as a lack of cross-ministerial coordination and limited technical capacity at the subnational level.
• In the Global South, specific barriers include high debt burdens, significant gaps in labour data for informal economies, and international climate finance that is often too siloed within sector-specific ministries to support holistic transition planning.
• The UNFCCC's Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) faces institutional deadlock due to divergent priorities: Global North countries focus on domestic labour market transitions, while Global South countries emphasize the right to development and the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
• Unilateral trade measures, such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), are viewed by some parties as 'arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination' that shifts burdens onto developing economies and undermines the principles of equity.
• Effective national Just Transition planning requires a shift from narrow environmental safeguards to a holistic approach, utilizing specific indicators to translate high-level commitments into actionable targets for employment, social inclusion, and environmental restoration.
• The report recommends establishing a permanent Just Transition coordination unit or body within the UNFCCC to reduce fragmentation, track funding flows, and facilitate the sharing of empirical research on the cross-border implications of transition efforts.
• Private sector engagement is critical but currently limited; fewer than 1% of companies effectively plan for Just Transitions, necessitating government-led enabling environments through sustainable finance taxonomies and targeted support for SMEs.

APA

Frasson, C. M. R., Gonçalves, V. K., Klinsky, S., Atteridge, A., Harry, S., Duarte, J., Guião, M., Omoju, O., Ghosh, B., Alonso, A. P. G., Kempis, N., Hogbin, J.-A., Hankus, A., Hansen, B., & Clara, I. (2025). JUST TRANSITION COMPASS A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION AND INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/JT-COMPASS-17112025.pdf

Chicago

Frasson, Caroline Medeiros Rocha, Veronica Korber Gonçalves, Sonja Klinsky, Aaron Atteridge, Steven Harry, Jessica Duarte, Marina Guião, et al. JUST TRANSITION COMPASS A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION AND INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION. Climate Strategies, 2025. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/JT-COMPASS-17112025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Frasson |first1=Caroline Medeiros Rocha |last2=Gonçalves |first2=Veronica Korber |last3=Klinsky |first3=Sonja |last4=Atteridge |first4=Aaron |last5=Harry |first5=Steven |last6=Duarte |first6=Jessica |last7=Guião |first7=Marina |last8=Omoju |first8=Oluwasola |last9=Ghosh |first9=Bipashyee |display-authors=etal |title=JUST TRANSITION COMPASS A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION AND INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=November 2025 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/JT-COMPASS-17112025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{frasson2025just, author = {Frasson, Caroline Medeiros Rocha and Gonçalves, Veronica Korber and Klinsky, Sonja and Atteridge, Aaron and Harry, Steven and Duarte, Jessica and Guião, Marina and Omoju, Oluwasola and Ghosh, Bipashyee and Alonso, Ana Paola Gonzalez and Kempis, Nicole and Hogbin, Julie-Anne and Hankus, Adela and Hansen, Brynn and Clara, Idea}, title = {{JUST TRANSITION COMPASS A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION AND INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/JT-COMPASS-17112025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }