Case Study

The Just Transition Initiative to Address Climate Change in the African Context

Neyen supported the African Development Bank by leading an initiative to incorporate just transition alongside climate change and green growth in its strategies and operations. This effort focused on developing its just transition framework in the region.

The Story

Integrate just transition into the sustainable development agenda

The client aimed to further integrate just transition, which it considers a crucial aspect of its broader sustainable development agenda, into its strategies and operations.

Map potential pathways to a just transition

Neyen conducted substantial research to better understand the context and conceptualize a just transition that was relevant to the region. Through extensive literature review, we were able to group countries where we identified common threads and to profile their challenges and potential pathways towards a just transition. This was supported by a series of roundtable meetings where we engaged with different stakeholders, which represented a variety of countries and sectors and offered their experiences and expertise to shape the understanding of a just transition in the region. This included not only a theory of change but also financing and implementation.

Deliver a framework to guide investments

Neyen delivered a series of discussion papers that delved into various aspects of just transition as they related to Africa, including theory, financing, and implementation. This was followed by a series of roundtable meetings engaging key stakeholders from the region. We then went on to elaborating a technical report detailing a just transition in Africa. This culminated in the delivery of a just transition framework to guide the bank in identifying investments that advance just transition.

Drivers of change

Supporting a transformational change

The initiative laid the foundations for just transition understanding in the bank towards implementation throughout the region where they operate. Building the bank’s capacity to align its strategy and operations with a just transition should lead to greater change, especially given their influence in the region.

Lessons Learned

A just transition is a context-driven approach that should consider regional, national, and subnational circumstances to be truly fair and inclusive. For example, we acknowledge that just transition processes carried out in fossil fuel-dependent countries are different from the ones carried out in economies that depend on tourism or agriculture.

Find out more

Results were presented at Africa Climate Week 2022. Read more here and access the technical report.