Bottom-up or top-down? Governance arrangements and coherent policymaking for just transition

Policy coherence is widely seen as a critical tool for countries to advance their climate and sustainable development commitments. Recent research has shown that the consequences from effective policy coherence efforts tend to deliver broader societal benefits and inequality reduction; while, in contrast, incoherent policymaking not only fails to deliver societal benefits, but also create benefits for polluting industries and political elites. Moreover, there is a strong perception among policymakers and experts involved in climate policy that coherence is crucial for advancing just transition at all levels and governance domains.

The multi-level and cross-sectoral character of just transition and its ambition to leverage synergies between climate action, social equity and labour rights puts strong emphasis on effective coordination, coherence and integration strategies. Despite this, the literature on governance arrangements for the implementation of just transition strategies have not sufficiently assessed the role of policy coherence.

This event will present novel empirical findings on the consequences of policy coherence and their implications for just transition strategies across governance levels. It will also showcase experiences and lessons learned from the development of national and sub-national just transition strategies in Mexico and Spain. A panel of experts will discuss implications and explore how these insights could inform the UNFCCC Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) and enable progress towards a Global Just Transition Framework.

Speakers

• Animesh Kumar, Head of UNDRR Bonn Office

• Alina Averchenkova (online), Grantham Institute, London School of Economics

• Raúl Alfaro Pelico, Lancaster University

• Ulises España (online), POLEA

• Lara Lázaro Touza, Real Instituto Elcano

• Alexia Faus Onbargi, German Institute of Development and Sustainability

• Adis Dzebo, Stockholm Environment Institute

Moderator: Richard Klein, Stockholm Environment Institute