The Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP), established at COP28, must become a key part of the framework for climate justice, by focusing on the sustainable, fair, fast, and funded phase out of fossil fuels and transformation of economies while prioritising the rights and needs of communities, particularly in the Global South. The programme must maintain a broad scope to genuinely pursue justice and avoid becoming a platform where developed countries narrow the agenda and dictate terms to the Global South. To do this it must emphasise the principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, historical responsibility, and national sovereignty. For a truly just transition, it must protect human, labour, gender, and indigenous rights, and address energy and food poverty, economic inequality, and sustainable development. The JTWP must also address and strengthen the means of implementation (climate finance and technology transfer through international cooperation) for just transition in the Global South. This means addressing the systemic and structural barriers to development that have long constricted the ability of the Global South to address climate impacts and the needs of their people.
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