Background

There is growing recognition of the importance and necessity of ensuring that the transition to low-emission and climate-resilient economies takes place in a just manner. As Parties pursue ambitious mitigation and adaptation action under the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and embark on the transition to low-emission or net-zero and climate-resilient economies and societies, they increasingly see the need to understand the socioeconomic impacts – both positive and negative – of this transition on the workforce, enterprises and communities. Understanding and managing these impacts – including maximizing the positive impacts of the transition and minimizing adverse impacts on employment and livelihoods – is central to countries' ability to sustain ambition and secure broad-based support for climate action.

Achieving these outcomes also requires adequate means of implementation. In particular, access to finance can play an important role in enabling countries to support affected workers, enterprises and communities, strengthen institutional capacities, and implement just transition measures that are aligned with national development priorities and climate objectives.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving a just transition, a growing number of frameworks, guidelines, tools and country experiences can help guide Parties in undertaking the transition in a just manner. Some provide general elements applicable across contexts, while others are tailored to specific sectors or national circumstances; not all will be fully applicable to every country, but each can offer insights that Parties can adapt to their own context. Facilitating the sharing of such experiences, good practices and lessons learned among Parties is therefore a key means of supporting countries in designing and implementing their own just transition policies.

The Conference of the Parties (COP), the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) address these issues through the forum on the impact of the implementation of response measures and its constituted body, the Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the Implementation of Response Measures (KCI). In line with these functions and as follow up of the implementation of workplan of the forum and its KCI, the COP 27, CMP 17 and CMA 4, requested the secretariat, noting that national circumstances differ, to conduct peer-to-peer learning, where possible, to facilitate planning and implementation of effective policies for just transition of the workforce and creation of decent work and quality jobs, and on economic diversification and transformation.

This peer-to-peer exchange workshop will serve as a platform to bring together countries at different stages of planning and implementation of just transition policies and strategies to exchange experiences and learn from one another. It will bring together government representatives from across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia regions for a two-day, in-person peer exchange.

Objective

The overall objective of the workshop is to enhance the capacity of Party experts from the Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East regions in planning and implementation of effective policies for just transition of the workforce and creation of decent work and quality jobs, by promoting structured peer-to-peer exchange among participating countries, enabling country-driven identification of solutions, facilitating mutual learning and strengthen networking among participants.