At Climate Talks in Bonn, Africa Pushes for Institutional Grounding in the Just Transition Work Programme
The first week of negotiations on the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) at the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) in Bonn unfolded amid high expectations and strategic positioning. With a joint contact group tasked to prepare a draft text that can be carried forward to COP30 in Baku, the week saw significant divergence between developed and developing countries on the scope, structure, and future of the JTWP. For African countries, represented through the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), the G77+China, and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), this first week was critical for articulating a bold vision: a just transition must be rooted in equity, international cooperation, and institutional strength.
1. Building Institutional Arrangements That Deliver
A central demand from African negotiators has been the establishment of a dedicated institutional mechanism to support JTWP implementation. The AGN proposed a "Global Just Transition Framework" to provide technical guidance, foster information exchange, and match transition needs with means of implementation (MOI). The G77+China emphasized that such arrangements should be Party-led, non-prescriptive, and responsive to evolving national contexts—enabling real action at all levels. The LDCs, meanwhile, called for targeted support mechanisms that consider the specific vulnerabilities of low-income countries, including debt sustainability, energy poverty, and informal sector dynamics. Africa’s position is clear: without institutional arrangements, just transition risks becoming aspirational rather than operational.
2. Expanding the Breadth of Just Transition
Another point of divergence in the first week was the scope of what constitutes a "just transition." While many developed countries, especially the EU and UK, framed it primarily in terms of energy transition and mitigation pathways aligned with the 1.5°C goal, African countries argued for a broader and more inclusive lens. The AGN emphasized that just transitions in Africa must address energy access, clean cooking, job creation, and social protection. The LDCs underscored that adaptation finance gaps, structural inequality, and debt relief must also be part of the conversation. This broader framing reflects the developmental realities of the continent and positions just transition as a socio-economic transformation, not merely a sectoral reform.
3. Means of Implementation as a Core Enabler
The issue of support and means of implementation (MOI) was a recurring priority across African interventions during the week. African groups insisted that financial, technological, and capacity-building support are not optional components but essential enablers of just transitions. The AGN specifically highlighted the need for access to affordable energy, social safety nets, and targeted finance. The LDCs called for reforms in the international financial architecture, including debt relief and climate-related debt swaps. In contrast, developed countries were largely resistant to linking JTWP outcomes to additional financial obligations, often attempting to redirect discussions away from Articles 9.1 and 6.8 of the Paris Agreement, which developing countries see as critical legal foundations for support.
4. Strategic Synergies Across the UNFCCC and Beyond
On the matter of aligning JTWP with other processes, African countries supported synergies with relevant UNFCCC mechanisms such as finance, adaptation, and loss and damage, but rejected attempts to subsume JTWP under the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP). The AGN and G77+China emphasized the importance of maintaining the distinct identity of JTWP, focused on fairness and equity. The LDCs also urged that synergies should extend beyond the UNFCCC to include development institutions and global financial reforms. The Arab Group and LMDCs echoed this call, underscoring the need for party-driven cooperation rather than externally imposed alignment.
Conclusion
As the Bonn negotiations enter their second and final week, the contact group faces a pivotal task: distill these divergent positions into a coherent draft text that can guide negotiations at COP30. For Africa, this is not merely a procedural step—it is a fight to anchor just transition in institutional and developmental reality. The continent’s call for a broad, equity-based, and implementable JTWP is a call for climate justice. Whether the final text reflects that ambition will determine if the programme delivers on its promise—or becomes another missed opportunity in the architecture of global climate governance.
