Panamá to Belém: Grassroots Demands for a Real Just Transition

Last month, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held its first Climate Week in Panamá City. This gathering marked a pivotal space to inform and shape deliberations for the upcoming climate talks in Bonn, Germany, in June, which will in turn set the tone and the agenda for the Conference of the Parties (COP) 30 negotiations, to be held in Belém, Brazil, this November.

As members of the Just Transition Alliance (JTA), we provide resources for and organize with grassroots groups at the intersection of labor and environmental justice. We participated in these climate talks to advance policies and other actions proposed and led by frontline workers, Indigenous Peoples, and environmental justice communities. Unfortunately, what we witnessed in Panamá City deeply concerned us. Many official conversations during the climate week focused on supporting false solutions that perpetuate climate chaos. Upcoming Paris Agreement discussions must not continue this advocacy and must instead create climate-just solutions based on Just Transition and Indigenous Just Transition Principles.