UN Climate Report Reveals Just Transition Still Missing from Most National Climate Plans

Key Impact Points:

• Only 26% of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) explicitly mention just transition; many lack depth.
• UN Climate Change introduces a monitoring framework to help countries and companies track just transition efforts.
• Report highlights best practices in high-emissions sectors, focusing on jobs, gender, inequality, and stakeholder inclusion.

UN Climate Report Reveals Just Transition Still Missing from Most National Climate Plans
New UN Climate Change report urges nations to embed fairness in climate strategies to ensure no one is left behind.

Just Transition Moves from Ambition to Implementation

A new report from UN Climate Change evaluates how countries are integrating the concept of a just transition into national climate strategies—including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategies (LT-LEDS). The concept calls for managing the shift to low-emission economies in a fair, inclusive way that minimizes harm to workers, industries, and vulnerable communities.

“Climate action and just transition pathways are not separate endeavors but intrinsically linked components of broader sustainable development goals,” writes UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in the report’s foreword.

What the Report Finds

The analysis reveals that while 65% of LT-LEDS refer to just transition, only 26% of NDCs do—and many of those references are superficial. Integration of just transition themes—like jobs, youth, gender, inequality, and stakeholder engagement—is inconsistent and often lacks policy follow-through.

The report also shines a light on progress in high-emission sectors such as coal, oil and gas, and transport. It examines how national governments and the private sector are beginning to embed fairness principles into transition planning.

A New Monitoring Tool for Accountability

To support implementation, UN Climate Change introduces a comprehensive monitoring framework built on four pillars:

• Distributional justice
• Procedural justice
• Restorative justice
• Recognition justice

This tool aims to help both governments and businesses track efforts and outcomes more transparently.

The Road Ahead

Although first introduced by the labor movement in the 1970s, just transition has gained global momentum in the past decade. Still, the report notes a gap between ambition and action—with limited capacity and resources often cited as barriers to inclusion.

The report urges policymakers to prioritize just transition principles within climate planning, ensuring that the transformation to a green economy does not leave behind the people and places most at risk.

Access the full report here: UN Climate Change Report on Just Transition