Incorporating Just Transition Strategies in Developing Country NDCs and post-Covid responses

The document describes a project to bridge the gap in the practical application of just transition concepts within developing countries. By analyzing South America, Southeast Asia, and West Africa—with case studies on Colombia, Indonesia, and Ghana—the project identifies that these nations often lack the regulatory and institutional capacity to support just transitions. Key findings highlight a high prevalence of informal labor markets (often 50% to 80% of the workforce) that are currently overlooked in climate and pandemic responses. The project seeks to develop recommendations for revised NDCs ahead of COP26 and facilitate links between governments, investors, and donors to provide the necessary technical and financial support.

• Developing countries generally lack the regulatory, institutional, and civil society capacity required to implement just transition strategies, suggesting that such commitments may need to be introduced in a staged or programmed manner as capacity grows.
• There is a significant gap in the recognition of informal workers in both just transition dialogues and state responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, despite these workers constituting a large portion of the labor market in developing countries—often exceeding 50% and in some cases reaching closer to 80%.
• Many governments in the studied regions do not yet consider just transition as a concept, and labor markets are typically not integrated into climate strategies; instead, labor management focuses on job creation rather than transition.
• There is a lack of integration between national Covid-19 recovery responses and climate change strategies or NDC commitments among the governments studied.
• Stakeholder participation in climate policy varies significantly by country: it is meaningful and informed in Colombia, limited to the business sector in Indonesia, and non-existent in Ghana.

APA

Climate Strategies (n.d.). Incorporating Just Transition Strategies in Developing Country NDCs and post-Covid responses. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/JustTransition-NDC_final.pdf

Chicago

Climate Strategies. Incorporating Just Transition Strategies in Developing Country NDCs and post-Covid responses. n.d. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/JustTransition-NDC_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Strategies |title=Incorporating Just Transition Strategies in Developing Country NDCs and post-Covid responses |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/JustTransition-NDC_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatestrategiesndincorporating, author = {{Climate Strategies}}, title = {{Incorporating Just Transition Strategies in Developing Country NDCs and post-Covid responses}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/JustTransition-NDC_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }