Date: Sunday, December 10th
Time: 15:00 – 16:30 (GMT+4)
Location: Side Events Room 8, Blue Zone, B6
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0lXxMFEzSs&list=PLBcZ22cUY9RLMkm-apVgzZ8JSi0Tsywd3&index=34
Event description:
The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) is an emerging financing mechanism between largely G7 nations and coal-dependent developing countries to support the countries’ own paths to phase out coal and transition to clean energy while addressing social consequences and ensuring ‘a broad consensus’. To date, JETPs are underway with South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal, and are under negotiation in several other countries. Yet despite the emphasis on “just”, for the JETPs currently under development and implementation, much of the focus has been on the technical aspects of planning and financing the energy transition, with limited attention to the “just” component.
Public participation, transparency, accountability are all essential in addressing the social and environmental consequences of development and are crucial to a just transition that leaves no one behind. Yet the civic space that underscores these core principles is under increasing threat. From a lack of proper consultation with and inclusion of civil society in the early stage technical discussions, to unjust and arbitrary arrests of climate leaders and energy policy experts, civic space for environmental dialogue is shrinking in JETP recipient countries. Climate leaders and environmental defenders face constrained operating contexts and serious risks of reprisals, particularly at the early stage of the JETP process when project selection happens, undermining progress in meeting climate goals. On the other hand, institutional stakeholders currently apply safeguard policies and consultation requirements to particular projects, rather than the financing framework as a whole.
A strong and free civil society is critical for accountability and transparency in the JETP process. A Just Energy Transition Partnership can only be just when civil society is involved in its design, planning and implementation. With the multitude of stakeholders involved in the JETP framework, there is a lack of clarity and coordination in the principles that will ensure a just transition. There is a pressing need for different stakeholders to come together to protect environmental defenders and build a safe space for dialogue within the JETP framework. This session will explore trends and solutions on protecting civic space to ensure that JETPs and their underlying climate commitments are credible, just, and achievable.