ActionAid has exposed the shockingly low levels of funding dedicated to making sure the transition to a greener future supports and prioritises workers, women and communities.
Newly released ahead of COP30, the report, Climate Finance for Just Transition: How the Finance Flows, analysed data from the two major global climate funds – the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds – to reveal that disappointingly less than 3% (2.8%) of climate finance is supporting just transition approaches. The data also revealed that only one in 50 projects (1.96%) are adequately listening to and supporting people through just transition, and only one US dollar in every 35 spent supporting just transition.
ActionAid says there is an urgent need to move away from fossil fuels and industrial agriculture and towards renewables and agroecology, but that this needs to be done in a way that protects people’s jobs and rights and makes food and energy affordable. Just transition approaches often mean involving communities in local planning processes, providing support and training for new jobs and thriving greener economies, and offering income support to help bridge the gaps when climate-destructive industries close down.
Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International, said: “The world urgently needs action to prevent climate breakdown, but it should be the polluters, not the workers and communities, who pay the price.
“Our new report shows just transition approaches are jaw-droppingly underfunded, and people’s needs are at the bottom of the priority list. Something’s got to give. If just transition continues to be overlooked, then there’s a real risk that inequalities will deepen.”
Teresa Anderson, report author and Global Lead on Climate Justice said: “No-one should have to choose between a secure job and a safe planet. Just transition approaches make sure that climate action prioritises people’s daily needs, and doesn’t accidentally push people deeper into poverty. Without just transition approaches, climate action risks unintended harm, backlash, and ever-more delay.”
The report highlights stories of harm by industrial agriculture companies and fossil fuel giants in communities ActionAid works with in the Global South, identifying stories of strength as people and workers fight back against climate destruction and deforestation, as well as key sectors that must play a role in a greener future but are not protecting workers and communities.
For generations, a community living near Timbiras in Maranhão, part of the legal Amazon region in Brazil, have made a living from babassu coconuts, a type of palm that grows naturally in the forest and which produces oil and fibres that are widely used in food, industry and cosmetics.
As deforestation advances, the community faces growing pressure from farmers, businessmen and politicians to leave their forest territory to make way for expanding industrial agriculture.
“They want to push us out to grow corn, soya or cattle. They just want to grab this land,” says a babassu coconut breaker from the area who has requested to not be identified.
The community have faced intimidation methods to leave the land. For three years, planes and drones have been spraying the community with pesticides. This has led to community members experiencing headaches, nausea, stomach pains, dizziness and rashes. While pesticide attacks have now been banned, little is being done to enforce the ban, and deforestation continues.
Jessica Siviero, Climate Justice Specialist at ActionAid Brazil adds: “The Amazon forest acts as the lungs of planet earth, while the Cerrado serves as its veins, carrying life and connecting vital ecosystems. COP30 coming to Belém puts the spotlight on industrial agriculture’s role in driving Amazon and Cerrado destruction. It’s time for the world to move away from harmful industrial agriculture, and towards agroecological approaches that feed people and cool the planet. Just transition approaches need to be applied to agriculture as well.”
With one week to go until COP30 begins in Belém, Brazil, ActionAid is calling for a commitment to coordinate just transition globally. Specifically, along with allies, it’s demanding a “Belém Action Mechanism” on just transition to be set up to ensure coordination, shared learning and to support implementation.
“This is a critical opportunity for global climate action to evolve for the better. COP30 needs to deliver on a global plan for just transition to support and reassure those on the frontlines, and to unleash the action our planet so urgently needs,” adds Anderson.
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Spokespeople are available for comment.
Please contact Steph Wulf, Senior Communications Manager, ActionAid Australia: [email protected], +61 (0)456 952 836
About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global women’s rights organisation, working with women on the frontlines of injustice – including the climate crisis, conflicts, and humanitarian emergencies. We work with more than 41 million people living in over 70 countries, supporting women to transform their lives and their communities.