A key factor in accelerating the shift to a resilient net zero economy is making sure that the transition is fair and inclusive, one that delivers decent work, cuts inequality and eradicates poverty. This is the agenda of the just transition, an imperative included in the Paris Agreement, and one which is gaining increasing attention by governments, business and trade unions and civil society, as vital to achieving climate success. The financial sector is also recognising the key role it can play to support the just transition, whether as banks, investors or development finance institutions. 

The aim of the Just Zero conference is to bring together some of the key activities that are underway to mobilise the financial sector in support of a just transition and build a momentum for change heading into the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. 

Register here for one or more sessions.

By Erin Shackelford

Writing for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Just Transition Initiative, IRI Director David Wood, and IRI Research Fellow Andre Almeida Santos, provide the case of the Fonds de solidarité as a model for investors to engage on a Just Transition. While the labor and climate movements are engaged in more direct efforts, “financial conventions tend to keep investors at the margins of transformative engagement”. Lifting up the model of the Fonds for investors, they point to a number of ways investors can effectively support a just transition:

- Leading on multi-sector dialogue to map the potential impacts of energy transition for the local workforce

- Holding a summit for a Just Energy Transition which brings together the public sector, labor, business, and community groups; 

- Making an action plan for the fund including divest/invest opportunities to support clean energy and clean energy jobs.

Read more about the Fonds in the article, Workers’ Voice and Investing in a Just Transition: The Fonds de Solidarite FTQ.

... Read more about Workers' Voice and Investing in a Just Transition: The Fonds de Solidarite FTQ