AFRICA LAUNCHES BOLD NEW PRINCIPLES FOR A JUST AND EQUITABLE TRANSITION AMID CLIMATE CRISIS

BY VICTORIA MOVINE 

Delegates present during the launch at Sarova Panafric Hotel, Nairobi on May 28 2025.

The Just Transition Platform (JTP) has today officially launched a new set of "Principles for a Just and Equitable Transition," providing a comprehensive framework to steer Africa’s response to the global climate crisis in a landmark event at Sarova Panafric Hotel, Nairobi.

The high-level dialogue brought together influential voices from across the continent’s energy, labour, trade, gender, and land use sectors, signaling a unified African vision for sustainable development.

Established in 2022 and co-convened by ClimateWorks Foundation and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Africa, the JTP has spent three years developing these principles through rigorous regional collaboration. With roots tracing back to the inaugural workshop in Accra, Ghana, the effort evolved through multiple consultations, culminating in today's formal launch.

“This is about reclaiming Africa’s agency in the global climate narrative,” said Dr. Pamela Levira of the African Union. “The JTP’s principles ensure that climate action on this continent is grounded in equity, social justice, and economic transformation.”

The newly launched principles cover five critical sectors:

Energy: Promoting Sustainable National Energy Resource Sovereignty, Energy Justice, and Innovation. The framework supports Africa’s rights to manage its energy transition using locally appropriate models—gradual, leapfrogging, or hybrid approaches—while prioritizing clean, affordable access and inclusive partnerships.

Trade and Finance: Advocating for fairness, safeguards, and African-led partnerships. With references to frameworks like AfCFTA, the principles emphasize reducing debt dependency, enhancing transparency, and reforming global institutions to reflect African priorities.

World of Work: Championing decent work, social protection, and inclusive climate governance. Labour-responsive transitions must be backed by green skills training, universal protections, and binding legal frameworks that center the rights of workers, especially the most vulnerable.

Agriculture and Land Use: Encouraging equity-focused, low-carbon reforms. From updating land policies to prioritizing smallholder farmers and women’s leadership, the framework highlights the transformative potential of inclusive agricultural policy.

Gender and Care Economy: Calling for feminist, justice-centered transitions. The principles address systemic gender inequalities and center unpaid care work, advocating for the inclusion of marginalized voices in all sectors affected by climate shifts.

Delegates present during the launch at Sarova Panafric Hotel, Nairobi on May 28 2025.

With African nations preparing to update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, the timing is critical. Though Africa contributes less than 4% of global emissions, it suffers some of the worst impacts—from heat-related labor fatalities to strained food and health systems.

“Youth unemployment in some African countries exceeds 35%. A Just Transition must mean more than climate policy—it must deliver dignity and livelihoods,” said Ujunwa Ojemeni of E3G.

Beyond policy prescriptions, the event emphasized a philosophical shift: reclaiming Africa’s narrative. The JTP challenges externally imposed definitions of "just transition," instead advancing a vision rooted in African contexts and leadership.

The key messages from the launch included:

Demanding African control over natural resources and renewable energy development.

Prioritizing economic justice and dignified work over survival-based employment.

Confronting inequality and systemic corruption through structural reforms.

Redirecting investment toward community-benefiting sectors, not elite infrastructure.

“We are not just transitioning,” said Dr. Tedd Moya of the University of Oxford. “We are transforming—on our own terms, for our own people.”

As the continent faces mounting climate pressures, the JTP’s newly launched principles offer a path forward that is inclusive, resilient, and resolutely African.