ILO at COP31

Programme of events in the Just Transition Pavilion

• 9 November

  *All times are local

  • 14:30-15:30 - Heat, Health and Human Resilience: Protecting Workers, Youth and Women in a Just Climate Transition
    • Under the theme of heat, health and human resilience, this session explores how climate change affects workers across sectors and life stages. Bringing together perspectives on frontline health professionals, worker protection, women's occupational health, youth resilience, and mental health, the discussion highlights lived experiences and evidence-based solutions for occupational safety, climate adaptation, health equity, and a just transition that leaves no one behind.
• 10 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - Who Decides, Who Benefits? From Extraction to Ownership in a Just Energy Transition
    • Who decides and who benefits in the shift to clean energy? Focusing on sectoral pathways for a just transition, this session examines transition costs, including mineral extraction, inequitable agreements and flawed supply chains, alongside people-led solutions: Indigenous and community-led renewables, local value creation, a common regional industrial policy and nationally determined pathways. It will identify governance measures to shift the focus from extraction to ownership.
  • 13:00-14:00 - Cross-Regional Learning on Just Transition: A Whole Economy Approach, Impacts and Pathways
    • A just-transition lens makes fossil fuel phase-out more feasible by supporting workers, communities, and regions. This event enables cross-regional learning on subnational governance and whole-of-economy, whole-of-society approaches. Drawing on experiences from Indonesia, Nigeria, China, and beyond.
  • 14:30-15:30 - Green Skills for a Competitive Net-Zero Economy: Closing the Talent Gap in the Green Transition - Launch of reports
    • The transition to a net-zero economy is driving strong demand for green skills, with employers facing growing talent shortages across sectors. As sustainability competencies become essential in both traditional and non-traditional green jobs, businesses, governments, and education providers must work together to strengthen reskilling and training systems. This session will explore practical solutions for developing the workforce needed to support climate action, competitiveness, and sustainable growth.
  • 16:00-17:00 - Occupational Health and Safety in a Just Transition: Voices from the Informal Sector
    • Extreme heat, flooding and other climate shocks are increasing health risks, reducing labour productivity, and disrupting livelihoods. For workers in the informal economy, the ability to absorb and recover from these shocks is especially limited and costly. Drawing on research and worker-led experiences, the session explores how the ILO's work to make OSH an integral part of Just tTransition can translate into practice for workers in the informal economy.
  • 17:30-18:30 - Financing a Just Transition for All: From Pathways to Investment and Impact
    • This session explores how sectoral pathways, banking and insurance practices, bond markets and carbon finance can turn just transition commitments into investments benefiting workers and communities. It connects policy frameworks and bank transition plans with practical bond guidance and productive energy use under the World Bank’s ASCENT Carbon Programme, supporting decent work, livelihoods and social inclusion.
• 11 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - No Electrification Without Skill: Preparing Workers and Enterprises for the electric transition
    • Electrification is a key driver of decarbonization and will play a central role in achieving climate and energy goals. However, its success depends not only on technology and infrastructure investments but also on skilled workers, competitive enterprises, and supportive policies. This event will explore how businesses, policymakers, and social partners can address skills gaps, promote workforce development, and create the conditions needed to ensure an inclusive, productive, and successful electric transition.
  • 11:30-12:30 - Building Fair and Resilient Cities: Local and subnational action on heat, housing and just transition
    • Housing affordability, energy poverty and extreme heat are placing growing pressure on municipalities, particularly where local capacities and resources are limited. Bringing together municipal and regional perspectives from Türkiye, Brazil, India and the EU, this session will examine how urban heat planning, passive and nature-based cooling and municipal cooperation can cut emissions and build resilience, and how national support platforms, financing and skills can support a just transition.
  • 13:00-14:00 - Delivering Local Just Transitions – Levers for Success
    • While much of the just transition process globally is aligned with national strategies, just transitions are inherently local. This session explores how local and regional governments can convene partners to deliver an affordable, just and inclusive energy transition, backed by the finance and social policy each territory needs. Municipal and regional experience, alongside the EBRD-Enerjisa private sector project in Türkiye, will illustrate partnerships that support a fair territorial transition.
  • 14:30-15:30 - Carbon Markets, Unseen Workers – Labor Rights and Governance Gaps in Africa
    • Africa is rapidly emerging as a major site for carbon market development, with hundreds of projects already operating across the continent and significant expansion projected in the coming decades. Carbon markets are frequently promoted as development opportunities capable of attracting investment, generating employment, expanding access to sustainable livelihoods, and contributing to Africa’s development. Yet, as these supply chains proliferate, it is imperative to recognize that carbon markets are not just financial instruments–they are labor-dependent systems of production built on real economies, real supply chains, and the labor of real people. This raises critical yet oft-overlooked questions in climate policy discussions: What do these markets mean for workers, their rights, and the future of decent work? Are carbon markets in Africa delivering a just, equitable, and sustainable future – or do they risk repeating the same exploitative patterns we’ve seen in other global value chains?
      Examining labor rights in carbon markets across Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria, the Solidarity Center’s new report, Carbon Markets, Unseen Workers: Labor Rights and Governance Gaps in Africa, provides an analysis of the impact of carbon market projects on African workers, exposing the critical governance gaps that lead to the systemic erosion of labor rights. The report finds that many carbon market projects face risks similar to those seen across other global value chains, including informal and precarious work, worker misclassification, and limited labor protections. This panel will bring trade union perspectives to examine whether Africa’s carbon markets can deliver a genuinely just and equitable transition, helping to fill a critical gap in global climate policy discussions and governance. This event is co-organized by the Solidarity Center and ITUC-Africa.
  • 16:00-17:00 - Digitalization and Climate Change
    • Climate change and digitalization are reshaping economies and labour markets worldwide. Technologies such as AI, robotics, IoT, and data analytics can accelerate decarbonization, improve productivity, and strengthen climate resilience. This session will explore how businesses and policymakers can develop the green and digital skills needed for a just transition while leveraging innovation to support sustainable growth and employment.
• 12 November

  *All times are local

  • 17:30-18:30 - Bridging skills, inclusion and informed participation: capacity building for a just transition.
    • Achieving a just transition requires skills, inclusive opportunities, and trusted information for all. This session unites global partners on youth leadership, inclusive employment, sector-specific reskilling and countering climate disinformation. Through practical demonstrations and expert insights, participants will explore actionable toolkits to build inclusive capacity and ensure no one is left behind in a net-zero future.
• 13 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - Empowering People and Society: Pathways & Practical Actions for a Just and Inclusive Transition
    • This event highlights how policy-relevant pathways and practical actions can drive a just, inclusive transition that empowers people and society. It will showcase toolkits on the social & employment aspects of the transition from the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and domestic deep decarbonization pathways integrating socioeconomic priorities (DDP initiative). It will also show how national and regional efforts translate into global progress, and how international cooperation can accelerate it.
  • 11:30-12:30 - Scaling Responsible Business Conduct for a Just Transition
    • Businesses have a key role to play in advancing a just transition by aligning climate action with decent work, respect for human and labour rights, and social dialogue. Yet promising approaches often remain isolated rather than becoming standard practice. Co-organized by the ILO, UN Global Compact and OECD, this session will draw on real-world business experiences, explore how international frameworks can guide business action and how governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations can help scale sustainable and inclusive business practices.
  • 13:00-14:00 - Social Dialogue and the Just Transition
    • As countries accelerate climate action, ensuring a Just Transition has become critical for balancing environmental goals with economic growth, decent work, and social inclusion. This side event explores how social dialogue between governments, employers, and workers can support climate policy implementation, workforce adaptation, skills development, and enterprise competitiveness. Drawing on national experiences and international cooperation, it will identify practical approaches to delivering inclusive and sustainable transitions.
  • 14:30-15:30 - Towards a Just Energy Transition: Breaking the fossil lock-in and building quality jobs
    • A just energy transition requires more than technological solutions. Fossil lock-in across the globe blocks the energy transition and perpetuates climate injustice and human rights harms. How can we transition away from fossil fuels while ensuring the transition creates quality jobs, equips workers with the needed skills and lets communities benefit? This session explores how environmental action, energy policy and human capital development can work together to deliver on the goal of a just energy transition.
  • 16:30-18:30 - OPENING OF THE JUST TRANSITION PAVILION
• 14 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - From Skills to Green Jobs: Connecting Young People to the Electrified Industry
    • The green transition is creating growing demand for skills and talent, while young people increasingly seek careers that contribute to climate action. Yet a gap persists between youth aspirations and access to green employment opportunities. Focusing on electrification, this COP31 side event will explore how governments, businesses and education providers can connect young people to emerging green jobs, strengthen skills pathways and ensure an inclusive, people-centred transition to a net-zero economy.
  • 11:30-12:30 - From the Ground Up: People at the Center of a Just Transition
    • Climate action’s risks, costs and benefits are unevenly distributed, affecting vulnerable communities, workers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). A just transition must protect those most affected and equip frontline actors with resources. Drawing on scientific evidence and diverse perspectives, this panel will assess environmental, health and economic inequalities and explore multistakeholder policy solutions through insurance, inclusive finance and participatory planning.
  • 13:00-14:00 - A just transition that works for all: addressing unequal impacts
    • Climate and economic transitions do not affect everyone equally. UNHCR, KOBiZE, Lahore Smog Collective, Brazil’s MDA and UN ESCAP bring case studies from coal dependent regions, Pakistan’s smog crisis, Asia Pacific climate hazards and refugee hosting areas. The session explores how data, social protection, clean air policies and innovative finance can identify and address distributional impacts, including a practical demonstration of ESCAP’s climate impact analysis tool.
  • 14:30-15:30 - Just Transition and the Future of Work for Young People: Skills, Inclusion, and Decent Work
    • Young people are key stakeholders in present and future labor markets and are among those most affected by the climate crisis and the disruptions reshaping how, where, and whether people work. However, as green and digital transitions unfold together, the young people most at risk of being left behind often have the least access to new skills. This event examines young people's perspectives on a just transition and highlights success stories and challenges.
  • 16:00-17:00 - Protecting climate migrants and displaced workers in a Just Transition
    • Climate change drives human mobility. With decent work, migrant workers fill labour shortages, gain remittances, and aid decarbonisation. In poorly regulated labour markets, migrants face exploitation, heat stress, illegal recruitment, forced labour and vulnerability. Migration also reshapes care work and needs. The session presents evidence, legal issues, views on care and mobility, and community advocacy to improve rights-based responses to migration in adaptation planning and toward a Just Transition.
• 16 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - Justice by Design: A Socially Just Transition through Social Protection
    • A socially just transition requires embedding justice into climate policy from the outset, addressing structural inequalities throughout the policy cycle, from participation to the distribution of costs and benefits. This panel brings together governments, climate finance actors and practitioners as well as the Task Force on Linking Adaptive Social Protection and Climate Financing to explore country experiences in leveraging climate finance for social protection and social climate action.
  • 11:30-12:30 - Skills for the Green Transition
    • The green transition is rapidly reshaping labour markets and increasing demand for new skills across all sectors. Achieving climate goals will require strong collaboration between governments, businesses, workers, and education providers to align skills development with emerging needs. This session will explore how lifelong learning, reskilling, social dialogue, and public-private partnerships can help build a workforce capable of supporting a just transition and sustainable economic growth.
  • 16:00-17:00 - Skills for a Just Transition: Building a Future-Ready Workforce
    • Under "Workforce readiness & labour market policies", this panel explores how governments, industries and training providers can prepare workers for the green and blue transitions. Drawing on experiences from Türkiye, Africa and Southeast Asia, it connects clean energy, sustainable manufacturing and ocean-based solutions with skills development, inclusive employment and decent work, highlighting innovative partnerships, accredited training and policies that leave no one behind.
  • 17:30-18:30 - Financing a Just Transition: A North-South Parliamentary Dialogue
    • This North-South parliamentary dialogue will explore how affordable climate finance and investment policies can advance a just transition in developed and developing economies. Legislators will exchange experiences on creating an enabling environment to mobilize both public and private capital, creating decent jobs, supporting local industries and protecting vulnerable communities, while identifying practical legislative and oversight approaches to shared prosperity.
• 17 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - Communities and Indigenous Peoples at the heart of the green transition to ensure just solutions
    • The transition towards sustainable and low-carbon economies is transforming territories, economies, and communities. This transition must recognize and include the people who currently face the worst consequences of the climate crisis. But how that inclusion can bring about desirable solutions to climate problems is often neglected. This session will hear from people whose communities are at the frontline of the climate crisis and have lived experience of the transitions needed to combat it.
  • 13:00-14:00 - Threads of a Just Future: Women, Care and Empowerment
    • Who carries the transition away from fossil fuels? Women bear the burden of unpaid care, climate impacts and industrial transformation, yet remain key agents of the transition itself. Bringing feminist perspectives together with the lived experiences of Bangladesh’s garment workers, this session explores how women’s collective action and voice can shape inclusive, equitable just transition pathways, connecting global climate negotiations with realities on the ground.
  • 14:30-15:30 - Decarbonising Industrial and Trade Value Chains: Regulations, Competitiveness and a Just Transition
    • This session explores how industries, transport systems, and international trade value chains can accelerate decarbonisation while maintaining competitiveness, creating quality jobs and supporting a just transition, while aligning with regulations. Drawing on manufacturing, mobility, logistics, mitigation, and emerging policy frameworks, speakers will examine practical pathways for industrial transformation, workforce resilience, investment mobilization, and inclusive growth.
  • 16:00-17:00 - From Climate Commitments to Dignified Work: Delivering a People-Centred Just Transition
    • A just transition is judged by whether people can move into secure, dignified work. Five partners from academia, civil society and youth open with short interventions on how social dialogue turns climate commitments into participation, protection, skills and inclusive access to green jobs, with cases from Italy, Portugal and Türkiye. A panel discussion with the audience follows, and a live Kahoot poll on priorities closes the event.
• 18 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - From Local Action to Systemic Change: Co-Creating a Just Transition for All
    • Bringing together universities, civil society, communities, national and international organisations, this interactive dialogue explores how local climate action can drive a just transition in agrifood systems, forest & nature-based livelihoods; knowledge, innovation & energy access; health, women's leadership, inclusive governance & social dialogue. Through real-world examples, speakers will identify practical pathways to turn local innovation into systemic change that leaves no one behind.
  • 11:30-12:30 - Building a Just Transition Mechanism in a changing geopolitical context
    • n a changing geopolitical context, workers expect a Just Transition Mechanism that delivers guarantees for green industries, quality jobs and decent living standards. While climate ambition is challenged by economic crises and geopolitical tensions, industrial strategies must address climate goals while protecting livelihoods. Trade union representatives from around the world will discuss their expectations for a genuine Just Transition based on workers’ rights, social dialogue and managing change fairly.
  • 14:30-15:30 - Scaling up just transition: a synergistic approach to achieving climate and development goals
    • Home to more than 60% of the world's population and over 60% of the greenhouse gas emissions, rapidly growing economies, and some of the most climate-vulnerable communities, the Asia-Pacific region faces the dual imperative of accelerating decarbonization while ensuring inclusive and equitable development. This session aims to address gaps and challenges with practical examples on actionable sectoral pathways towards a just and equitable transition for NDCs 3.0 implementation.
  • 16:00-17:00 - The Just Transition BAM for Social Justice
    • A broad coalition of trade unions, indigenous people's and civil society organisations are leading the call for a Just Transition Mechanism at the UNFCCC. A Just Transition grounded in labour and human rights will deliver for workers, their families and communities. CSO representatives will give a state of play of the negotiations.
• 19 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - How Do We Make Our Transition Away from Fossil Fuels Just and Inclusive?
    • Transitioning away from fossil fuels is critical to limit the impacts of climate change and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. But how to ensure this transition is just and inclusive? Bringing together diverse voices from across sectors and regions, this discussion explores practical solutions, lessons learnt, different approaches to address social and economic impacts, and how to make the transition both achievable and just.
  • 13:00-14:00 - Business Driving the Just Transition: Unlocking Innovation, Partnerships and Finance for Climate Action
    • Businesses are key to accelerating a just and inclusive climate transition. This session will explore how innovation, new business models, financing mechanisms and cross-sector partnerships can help companies scale the deployment of climate solutions and overcome investment barriers. Drawing on examples such as renewable energy procurement, or corporate fleet electrification, it will highlight how these enablers can drive private-sector investment and accelerate decarbonization while delivering social benefits, creating green jobs, supporting workforce development and generating opportunities for local communities.
  • 14:30-15:30 - Using Evidence to Make Just Transition Policy Work: From Local Dialogue to Global Tracking
    • Four organisations share diverse perspectives on the just transition and follow the evidence from local to global: who bears the costs of AI-driven data centres, and who benefits; how can universities help organise social dialogue and apply just transition principles; how can countries translate them into domestic policy; and what are the global policy trends. Mixing on-the-ground experience with data-driven insights, the session asks what evidence just transition policy needs, and for whom.
• 20 November

  *All times are local

  • 10:00-11:00 - Youth at the Table: Resourcing and Empowering Young Voices for a Just Transition
    • This event explores how youth in the Global North and South experience the just transition. Focusing on European and Latin American perspectives, speakers will discuss health and environmental impacts, global power imbalances, and barriers to youth participation. Through community examples, participants will explore how young people can shape decisions affecting their lives and futures.