“The challenge remains the notion of just transitions from an environmental, economic and social point of view.”

(Transcription of Karina Batthyány's Column)
(in InfoCLACSO – November 16, 2022)

In this column, we're going to revisit the topic of Just Transitions in the Environment and Climate Change. Why? Because COP 27, the Conference of the Parties, is currently taking place in Egypt from November 6th to 18th. COP 27 is an annual summit organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, bringing together representatives from the 197 countries that have signed the Convention, as well as experts on the subject and civil society organizations.

COP 27 is a very important meeting, because it represents an opportunity to raise awareness and bring together public and private institutions in one place, to outline these strategies and measures for what is called the climate crisis and in turn to fulfill the objectives already set in other Conferences of the Parties in previous years.

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This Summit also seeks to provide sustainable solutions to this problem and promote investment and legislation in this area. This year, COP 27 will focus its efforts on evaluating the national communications and inventories submitted by the various parties (nations and territories). It will also analyze the effects of the measures adopted by the parties and the progress made (or not) in achieving the objectives of the Convention.

Interestingly, this summit in Egypt is sponsored by Coca-Cola, one of the companies most criticized for its pollution, especially from plastic waste. This fact should at least give us pause for thought.

The main pressure on this year's COP27 to deliver results is very strong because we are so far from the goals set in the Paris Agreement. Global warming is increasing, and financing for the transition remains a point of contention, not a guarantee.

Let's recall, about a month ago, when the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which is another United Nations body) came out, it said:

-First, the climate-related effects are worse than expected, that is, worse than all the projections and studies that had been carried out.

-Second, the effects of climate change in the short term will continue to be worse, that is, they are not going to improve.

Third, the risks will increase rapidly with the ever-increasing temperatures that are being recorded, which will generate already irreversible effects on climate change.

-Fourth, inequality, conflicts and development problems increase vulnerability to climate risks.

-Fifth, there is an issue of adaptation, for which some viable solutions already exist, but more support is needed to reach the most vulnerable communities.

-And finally, this report also indicates that some effects of climate change are already too severe to achieve adaptation and that we need urgent measures to address the losses and damages.

Let us also remember that this report states that a much larger annual investment is needed from all stakeholders worldwide to achieve the transition to a low-carbon future and prevent warming from exceeding the projected 1.5 degrees.

This year's COP27 has a unique feature: it's known as the Africa COP, as it must also address Africa's specific climate challenges and secure climate finance. Why? Because Africa faces significant problems in this area, and solutions have yet to be found. Current economies rely on the exploitation of natural resources; Africa also needs to discuss the concept of a just transition that generates more decent jobs and involves investment in environmentally sustainable production.

That's in Africa, but what about Latin America? Our region has been characterized as the most unequal on the planet, and in the current context, the impacts of the pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine have further solidified trends of wealth concentration, increasing impoverishment, and greater vulnerability of entire populations to violence and climate-related phenomena.

If we start from the premise that a change in the energy and production matrix is ​​absolutely necessary and urgent, a large number of tensions and questions remain regarding how this transition will take place, its modalities, and the opportunities that arise from the imperative need to carry it out, especially incorporating criteria of equity and justice. In other words, at the heart of the matter are the questions surrounding the political and social dynamics and the principles of implementation for this transition in our region.

According to the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, our region is also included and is experiencing the consequences or issues I have been highlighting in the report. Along the same lines, another report, the World Economic Forum's Global Risks 2022, shows that climate change-related risks represent the main threats to humanity over the next ten years.

And in Latin America, of course, the reality is no different, as the World Economic Forum report and the World Meteorological Organization report clearly show the profound repercussions this environmental dimension has on ecosystems, food security, water security, health, and the fight against poverty in Latin America.

That is why COP 27 represents a very important stage for the parties involved to effectively work together in decision-making and in the search for solutions that promote the adoption of real measures against climate change.

Finally, our region has a perhaps unique (and certainly pioneering) instrument to improve environmental decision-making and protect everyone's right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment. This instrument is the renowned regional agreement on access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, known by its abbreviation as the Escazú Agreement, which is pioneering and unique in the world.

So, we have a concrete instrument, a clear platform that promotes solutions, the search for alliances between different countries, between governments at the national, local, and municipal levels, with the private sector, with the scientific community, with civil society, to favor an equitable distribution of economic benefits and environmental impacts in regional terms.

It also proposes safeguarding the fundamental rights of all people, with a special focus on those voices that are not properly heard. So, we face this challenge, a kind of triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, all of which are intensifying.

"What's happening is very serious… Some facts I gathered while listening to you speak and you were discussing this controversial sponsorship by a company like Coca-Cola: they manufacture 100 billion plastic bottles a year, and they're disposable, not even returnable. So, I really ask this question: How do we generate measures that aren't just cosmetic, but rather real, profound changes? In the Philippines, in 2013, Coca-Cola introduced plastic bottles for the first time, and just five years later, it was the leading generator of plastic waste in the Philippines. How much of these kinds of meetings truly lead to profound change, and how much is simply a PR stunt by some companies or even some governments?"

That's undoubtedly the question… I think that, indeed, given what has happened at previous COPs and the Paris Agreement, they don't seem to be very effective in building real, genuine alternatives that also have a short-term impact. Ultimately, the challenge remains this notion of just transitions from an environmental perspective, but also from an economic and social perspective, and what the place of countries in the Global South is in these just transitions. It's a topic we'll continue to discuss, and if you ask my personal opinion, I'd say that not much will happen at the COP 27 meeting in Egypt, which is why the Coca-Cola sponsorship is such a curious fact. At least it helps us to re-evaluate the issue as one of the absolutely vital and crucial challenges for everyone, and of course, it's also a challenge for the Social Sciences and Humanities, which for CLACSO is one of the strategic pillars we're working on as part of Platforms for Social Dialogue.

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