Position statement on COP 30 Just Transition outcomes

COP 30 in Belem was widely anticipated as the “implementation COP”. That is, the Parties bound by the Paris Agreement commitments were expected to deliver concrete updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and stimulate collective action. Most notably, Parties at COP 30 were expected to deliver on the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) – initially launched at COP 28 in UAE – which entails the guiding principles for designing pathways for just and equitable energy transitions. These principles pertain to the creation of new non-fossil-fuel-related jobs and Just Transition plans grounded on national/local social dialogues and public participation, ultimately prioritising inclusivity and poverty eradication concerns.

The wording matters

Although COP 28 laid the political grounds for just transitions, it was criticised for adopting weak language on fossil fuels. At COP28, the choice to use the phrase ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels’ – rather than stronger language like ‘phasing out fossil fuels’ – created an avoidable interpretation gap. The latter could have signaled a roadmap to terminate fossil fuels exploration, extraction, refinement, trading and burning, whilst the former alludes to a “transition away” without clear milestones and targets. It is thus no coincidence that the weak language on fossil fuels at COP28 corresponded with a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists attending COP30, especially when compared to the size of national delegations, a trend observed since 2021*. We therefore suspect that this disproportionate physical presence had an influence on the final text of the JTWP at COP 30, decision CMA/2025/L.14. In fact, we do not see “fossil fuels” referred to at all, posing a step back compared to COP 28 Decision. Colombian President’s address to delegates at COP 30 aptly confirms the case: “I cannot contradict science […] It is not clearly stated, as science says, that the cause of the climate crisis is the fossil fuels used by capital. If that is not said, everything else is hypocrisy.” 

*Attendance data is available from 2021. Comparative data for the previous Conferences are not available.

A missed opportunity, and a big step for Just Transition at COP 30

COP30 saw over 80 states – including the EU bloc – push to include a ‘Transition Away from Fossil Fuels Roadmap’ in the final Belém Package. However, this effort failed after more than 100 states rejected the proposal. 

We may have been declined a Roadmap agreement at UN level but we hail the joint decision of the Parties to establish the Just Transition Mechanism (also billed as “Belem Action Mechanism” – or “BAM”). This transforms the Just Transition Work Programme from objectives and methodologies to a more concrete framework of implementable components (e.g., international technical exchange and capacity building). 

We also welcome the strong coalition of 24 UN states that stood firmly by the Belem Declaration on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels (thereafter “Belem Declaration”), among them, 9 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia).

What’s the EU doing about it?

As a European youth network, we are strategically drawing attention to Ireland and the Netherlands for two different – but potentially connected – reasons:

1. The Netherlands demonstrated leadership by co-initiating, together with Colombia, the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, planned for April 2026 in Colombia. Where COP negotiations fall short to deliver, it is crucial that the issue at stake does not remain stagnant but rather advances at least through bilateralism. 
2. We underline the initiative of the Netherlands as a representative EU member-state in this bilateral process, and we consider that the outcomes of the Conference can inform Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the European Council, which begins on 1st July 2026. 

Including and empowering young people in Just Transition efforts is paramount

As one of the largest European youth networks for environmental civil society organisations, we welcome the fact that youth were considered in the Just Transition realm of the Belem Package as indispensable stakeholders for the implementation of the agenda: “The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement […] recognizes […] [t]he importance of ensuring broad and meaningful participation involving all relevant stakeholders, including […] youth”. 

We also welcome the strategic integration of the Plans to Accelerate Solutions (PAS), a new element in the COP framework that highlights ongoing and newly agreed initiatives driving climate action at all levels of society. This innovation underscores why COP 30 was billed as the ‘Implementation COP’.

Among these Plans, we set apart the “Plan to Accelerate Just and Inclusive Planning of the Energy Transition” and the “New Skills Development for the Future: Empowering Women and Youth for a Just Transition – A Global Multi-Stakeholder Partnership”. Together, these plans address the Just Transition from multiple angles, aligning climate objectives with social justice, especially by tackling gender and youth disparities in the context of fossil fuel phase-out.     

The progress made on the Just Transition agenda at COP30 – including the discourses and practices adopted – should also shape the Belém Declaration. While the Declaration explicitly acknowledges the link between fossil fuels and global climate change (a step forward from the Belém Package), it fails to address the specific impacts on younger generations or outline a strategic approach to engage them. This omission is striking, given that youth will bear the brunt of escalating climate impacts. Youth demands were clearly articulated in the “Global Youth Statement,” and presented at the Youth-led Climate Forums during COP 30. We echo and endorse the Statement’s call for “a full, fast and fair fossil fuel phase-out […] rooted in human rights, intergenerational equity (adopting the NDC Youth Clause), gender justice and the protection of the rights of nature, while ensuring a just transition”. 

Next steps for EU’s Just Transition post-COP 30

Preparedness disparities for just transitions between the EU and other UN Parties

We recognise the EU’s push for a Just Transition Roadmap at COP30, even though these negotiations ultimately failed. Nevertheless, just transition affairs are already more mature within the EU policymaking realm. In fact, since 2020-21 a Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) has been established and Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) have been developed across member states. 

FAQ: But what are the EU Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) and the EU Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)? 

The EU JTM is an overarching policy and resources (financing & knowledge resources) framework, aiming to help local communities, companies and industries whose operations are disproportionately dependent on fossil fuels -and primarily on coal-, in their pathways to decarbonisation, whilst ensuring that no societal stakeholder is left behind. It runs alongside the EU’s long-term budget, the “Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)” 2021–2027. The JTM mobilises a total of €55 billion by 2027, with €19.32 billion directly allocated through the Just Transition Fund under the EU’s Cohesion Policy.

The EU TJTPs primarily earmark the geographical territories where there is the highest need for the EU JTM to be leveraged (see the beneficiary territories in the relevant map below). The Plans were drafted in a participatory manner, involving the affected stakeholders of each territory, outlining relevant challenges, as well as the development needs and objectives to be met by 2030. They identify the types of operations envisaged and specify governance mechanisms.

EU Just Transition Mechanism could be compromised in the next MFF

The current EU JTM, however, is set to be transformed and “absorbed” into the European Commission’s proposed “European Fund for Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, Agriculture and Rural, Fisheries and Maritime, Prosperity and Security.” This new fund, with an estimated budget of €771.3 billion, will be part of the proposed MFF 2028–2034. Roughly 90% of this amount (€698.3 billion) is expected to be poured through a new structure, the “National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs)”. According to the European Parliamentary Research Service, the NRPPs allocate significantly less (€210.2 billion) to social cohesion objectives compared to the €392 billion earmarked in the current MFF 2021–2027.

On the other hand, the Commission’s proposal includes an additional €45.4 billion for NRPPs from the Social Climate Fund. It also mandates that at least 43% of the NRPPs budget (€300.269 billion) address climate and environmental goals, and at least 14% (€71 billion) support social objectives. At this point, we need to emphasise that just transition is inherently tied to interventions that integrate social, climate and environmental priorities simultaneously.

Yet, the proposed MFF budget does not explicitly include a just transition strategy. Alongside the broader simplification of EU legislation, the progress achieved in just transition territories risks being undermined, as just transition is now subsumed under the NRPPs. In practice, this means that the development of plans focusing on just transition processes and projects will depend on the discretion of individual member states.

Despite the reduction in funding specifically allocated to social cohesion, the overall mix of EU funds could still support just and equitable transitions – if member states choose to prioritise them. It is therefore crucial that younger generations are actively involved in drafting these plans, especially at the local level, drawing on the COP Plans to Accelerate Solutions (PAS) mentioned earlier. Social cohesion cannot be measured by quantitative indicators alone, such as employment and economic inequality. Meaningful intergenerational participation in planning is equally vital, fostering transparency, trust in public institutions and multi-level governance, thereby strengthening social cohesion at both local and national levels.

Finally, YEE has been a partner in the EUTeens4Green project (concluded in 2024), which empowered teens and young adults (ages 15–24) to become agents of change by proposing actions in their just transition territories, contributing to the governance of the Cohesion Policy. The project revealed both barriers to youth participation and concrete proposals that should inform the drafting and implementation of NRPPs. Key recommendations include financial and technical support for Youth and/or Intergenerational Climate Assemblies in Just Transition Territories; structured consultations with youth-led and youth-centered civil society organisations, with clear procedures for integrating their input into the plans; and dedicated funding for training, capacity building and awareness-raising programs (e.g., through Erasmus+).

Takeaways and Call to Action

Just Transition affairs span across multiple stakeholders, domains of interest, territories, and continents. On the premises of just transition developments at COP 30, and from the standpoint of a European youth network, we examine the position of the EU and its Member States both at the international and domestic (EU) level. 

At the international level, we remind:

1. The intention of the EU in favor of a Global Just Transition Roadmap 
2. The establishment of the “Belem Action Mechanism” at COP 30, with the younger generations being accounted for as relevant stakeholders
3. The Belem Declaration, signed by 9 EU Member States (including Ireland and the Netherlands)
4. The First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels planned for April 2026, co-initiated by the Netherlands and Colombia
5. That Ireland will take over the Presidency of the European Council in July 2026
6. The Plans to Accelerate Solutions – particularly the ones concerning Fair and Equitable Transitions, through inclusive planning and reskilling.

Therefore, we urge Ireland – a signatory Party to the Belem Declaration and upcoming Presidency of the EU Council – to closely follow the developments in Colombia in April 2026, and to ensure the effective and continuous coordination of the implementation of the Just Transition agenda in the EU, alongside the Netherlands and other EU signatories to the Belem Declaration. This coordination should take account of Global Resource Justice considerations and domestic sufficiency of the bloc in critical raw materials, required to replace the energy generated through the burning of fossil fuels.

At the domestic (EU) level, we underline that the proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) can either impede or become an enabler for the continuation of Just Transition efforts in the EU. The lack of explicit designated funding in the MFF 2028-2034 for the just transition territories could undermine the Just Transition “acquis” in the EU. 

Hence, we propose:

1. The funding package within the NRPPs does not overlook just transition territories, but instead serves as a catalyst to support their secure and continuous progress toward achieving fair climate neutrality by 2050.
2. That younger generations are actively involved in the drafting of NRPPs through a place-based approach, in line with the recommendations of the Plans to Accelerate Solutions at COP 30, for example by consulting youth-led and youth-focused civil society organisations, particularly those working on social and environmental rights.
3. Funding allocated to capacity building and the development of green skills, including both upskilling and reskilling initiatives.