Accelerating Green and Just Transition in the Global South: A Country-led, SDG-aligned, and People-centered Framework for Action

The global transition to a low-carbon economy presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges, particularly for countries in the Global South. While existing just transition (JT) frameworks provide important guidance, they often reflect priorities and pathways from the perspective of developed economies or the interests of donor countries. Against this background, comparative research of existing JT practices and text analysis of 66 developing countries’ updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) were conducted; findings indicate that existing JT frameworks differ greatly in scope, goals, and implementation methods between the Global North and Global South. This study then suggests a paradigm shift for the Global South’s JT, which requires comprehensive, inclusive, and sustainable development alongside climate goals, with green economic opportunities as the main pathway forward, consistent with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An evaluation framework is proposed and applied using public data, which offers a comprehensive yet flexible structure for countries to assess progress, identify gaps, and design targeted interventions across the three pillars of Goals, Pathways, and Readiness and Capacity. It enables countries to integrate JT into NDCs actions and make changes possible.