Advocating for Rights-Based Climate Investment Plans in Developing Nations to Realise a Just Transition

This toolkit provides a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to climate finance, specifically designed for civil society organisations and trade unions to advocate for just energy transitions in developing nations. It critiques the 'Billions to Trillions' (B2T) neoliberal agenda and the Just Energy Transition - Investment Plan (JET-IP) in South Africa, arguing that these models prioritise private profit and debt over public goods and human rights. The guide outlines six clusters of rights-based principles—ranging from national responsibilities and sovereignty to debt relief in times of crisis—and provides practical 'How to' guides and factsheets to help advocates influence climate investment plans and national budgeting processes.

• The 'Billions to Trillions' (B2T) agenda is critiqued as a neoliberal approach that assumes states lack fiscal space and instead seeks to mobilise private finance by 'de-risking' investments, where the state absorbs commercial, regulatory, and political risks to guarantee private profits.
• South Africa's Just Energy Transition - Investment Plan (JET-IP) is described as predominantly an infrastructure plan, with 89% of committed financing targeted towards infrastructure and 81% of total finance directed to the electricity sector. In contrast, 'justice' elements like skills development and economic diversification received only 0.1% and 0.3% of committed financing, respectively.
• The toolkit identifies a misalignment between South Africa's JET-IP and its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), specifically in the transport sector. While road transport causes 91% of the sector's emissions, the JET-IP prioritises the private automotive export industry and allocates only 4.7% of transport financing to public transport.
• Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the energy sector are critiqued for creating 'off balance sheet' structures that hide government debt and transfer commercial risks back to the state through state-backed guarantees and 'take or pay' contracts, which guarantee revenue for private investors regardless of actual demand.
• International Financial Institution (IFI) loan conditionalities, such as those from the World Bank and IMF, are argued to undermine national sovereignty by imposing austerity measures, trade liberalisation, and the privatisation of public utilities, which can restrict a government's ability to protect socio-economic rights.
• Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms are highlighted as tools that can prioritise corporate interests over national development and human rights, allowing investors to sue states for policies that protect the environment or public welfare.
• Current Debt Sustainability Assessments (DSAs) used by the IMF and World Bank are critiqued for prioritising debt service payments over the realisation of human rights and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which can lead to austerity in essential public services like health and education.
• The toolkit advocates for a 'cap and share' model to mobilise climate finance, which involves a legally binding cap on fossil fuel extraction and a carbon charge on polluters, with the proceeds redistributed as a global citizen's dividend and grants to the Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA).
• To ensure a just transition, the toolkit argues that developing nations must move beyond importing technology and instead implement industrial policies—such as local content requirements and state-supported 'infant industries'—to develop domestic capabilities in renewable energy production.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2024). Advocating for Rights-Based Climate Investment Plans in Developing Nations to Realise a Just Transition. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Advocating-for-rights_Toolkit.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Advocating for Rights-Based Climate Investment Plans in Developing Nations to Realise a Just Transition. 2024. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Advocating-for-rights_Toolkit.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Advocating for Rights-Based Climate Investment Plans in Developing Nations to Realise a Just Transition |date=2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Advocating-for-rights_Toolkit.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2024advocating, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Advocating for Rights-Based Climate Investment Plans in Developing Nations to Realise a Just Transition}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Advocating-for-rights_Toolkit.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }