Young people call for just transition, climate financing

Young people in Bulawayo recently hosted a discussion on climate financing and a ‘Just Transition’ at a local hotel, as part of the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) Zimbabwe, an initiative of YOUNGO, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s official Children and Youth Constituency.

While ‘Just Transition’ refers to shifting to a more sustainable economy that is equitable to all stakeholders, including those working in polluting industries, ‘Climate finance’ refers to local, national, or international funding that may come from alternative, public, or private funding sources.

“During the 2023 LCOY conference, we discussed the global stock take, climate finance, just transition and Article 6. For just transition, we discussed ways to transition to a more sustainable way of life without leaving people behind, because as we speak, there are people working at the Hwange Power Station, producing energy from fossil fuels.

“By just transition, we mean that those people are not supposed to be left behind because, for example, imagine we wake up in Zimbabwe and decide to use green hydrogen, implying that the Hwange coal plant must be shut down and those people will lose their jobs.

“What we are advocating for is for those people to be trained in the new green energy sector and be equipped with skills,” said Ms Thubelihle Roseline Ndlovu, founder of Green Zimbabwe.

Ms Ndlovu noted that Zimbabwe’s pledge to cut its energy-related emissions by 33 percent per person from present levels by 2030 was highly respectable.

“When it comes to just transition, we need to realise that some individuals are unaware that it has already happened.

You can see that we have transitioned to utilising energy-saving light bulbs after previously using ones that used a lot of energy.

“We support just transition because if we don’t educate people, they might invest their time, money, and energy in smart agriculture with no return because there won’t be a market.

“Young people are also interested in smart agriculture, and some awareness should be based on that, particularly on smart agriculture because the European Union (EU) has passed a law restricting the purchasing of food products that are the result of deforestation.

“So, if we don’t advocate for just transition and educate people, people might invest their money leading into zero results because there won’t be any market for their products,” she added.

Young climate activists such as Ms Ndlovu are taking the lead around the world, pushing a rational and equitable solution to the global calamity, but, their pleas and proposals continue to be ignored in limited forums such as the COP, the annual UN climate conference.

Youth climate activism, according to Ms Oyama Ndlovu, an LCOY youth delegate who participated in the debates, is critical for just transition because it helps to harness inclusiveness as we transition.

“Youth advocacy creates spaces for diverse groups such as differently abled people, children, and people from marginalised communities to amplify their voices and participate in the transition. Youth advocacy also gives contextual answers and insights for our communities’ relevant and successful just transition,” she said.

Young people in the Global South are already leading just transition initiatives through advocacy in the region, according to Ms Vicky Aridi, programme manager at YEO 2030 from Kenya, but there is “no one size fits all” for just transition efforts as countries in the Global South were affected by climate disasters like Cyclone Freddy earlier this year.

“Looking at the Southern African region, countries were severely hampered in their efforts to achieve a just transition earlier this year when they were struck by tropical cyclone Freddy. We have young people taking action and using their voices to move stakeholders to contribute their resources and programmes towards a just transition, through climate movements, and different coalitions such as We are the Future, are using social media and podcasts to amplify voices of climate activists.

“Beyond advocacy, young people are part of the green enterprises which is the component of the just transition. When we look at different sectors like agriculture, young people are implementing climate smart agribusinesses that include dynamic agroforestry and technology. Then we add sustainable fashion being run by entrepreneurs like in the Philippines and Lebanon,” she explained.

Ms Aridi said Kenya is more interested in reforestation programmes and incorporating forestry into their businesses to make it greener.

“Advancing a just transition also competes with other priorities. So, based on the national budgets available, countries usually say how much are we willing to allocate towards a just transition and will just transition allow us to achieve other goals,” she said.

The transition to a greener economy is driving green skills growth across all industries, including the most carbon-intensive, according to the Global Green Skills report 2023.

In a recent development on climate financing and just transition, the IKEA Foundation has provided US$20 million in seed financing to support just transition programmes in Indonesia, South Africa, and Vietnam.

“In just transitions, there are a lot of conversations about removing some of the blocks and barriers to climate financing.

“The key question for us is: Is that financing going to be implemented in a way that supports the people who need it the most?” said Sahba Chauhan, from the IKEA Foundation.

“When we talk about the Global South, we are talking about the majority of the world’s population. So we can’t have a just transition without taking care of this majority, the ones who have contributed least to climate change and those who are paying the most brutal price.

“Even though lots more people are embracing renewable energy as a way forward, communities still fear what that change will mean for their daily lives without support for a just transition. The skills people need now are not simply about advocacy or policy, but how to co-create solutions from below to diversify local economies and offer critical support to workers,” said Dr Kumi Naidoo, from the Community Arts Network (CAN), South Africa.