The social dimension of the ecological transition – Phase II

The transition to a low-carbon economy represents significant opportunities, but also major social and economic transformation challenges for societies and labour markets. This transition will only be possible and sustainable if it does not exacerbate inequalities. The International Labour Organization (ILO) and its tripartite constituents are committed to achieving a just transition and a sustainable future that meets the requirements of decent work, in accordance with the Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all.

The project “The Social Dimension of the Ecological Transition – Phase II” is positioned within this evolving global context. It represents one of the ILO’s flagship initiatives supporting the operationalization of countries’ just transition commitments and constitutes a key pillar of the 2025–2029 partnership between France and the ILO.

The 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change explicitly refers to “the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities.”

At the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019, 46 countries - including Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Senegal - committed to supporting a just ecological transition by developing just transition policies alongside scaling up climate action.

Since then, just transition has moved from conceptual recognition to concrete integration within national climate frameworks. Explicit references to just transition now appear in 79 per cent of 2025 nationally determined contributions' (NDC) 3.0 submissions.

Nearly 90 per cent of NDCs reference employment considerations, while 75 per cent refer explicitly to social inclusion and equity. This is a clear shift toward more action-oriented provisions: over half of NDCs reference follow-up mechanisms or institutional arrangements, while mentions of explicit resource allocation have increased to 26 per cent.

The project aims to enable a just ecological transition by strengthening understanding of the employment and income impacts of climate change and by supporting the design and implementation of policies and measures that promote decent job creation, social inclusion, and the mitigation of economic and social risks. Phase II builds on the achievements of Phase I to translate climate commitments into concrete action, fully integrating the social dimension into the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

The emphasis is on operational support to countries, focusing on strategic sectors and fostering the development of sustainable local enterprises with strong social and environmental impact. Through this approach, the project seeks to strengthen the territorial and sectoral anchoring of the just transition and support countries in transforming climate commitments into concrete drivers of social justice, economic resilience and inclusive innovation.

• Strengthening the implementation of just transition commitments expressed in NDCs 3.0 by means of technical assistance to governments and social partners to design, implement and monitor concrete measures related to decent work promotion, social protection, gender equality and the inclusion of vulnerable groups in priority sectors.
• Deployment of sectoral programmes and projects aligned with the just transition via targeted actions in key value chains (agriculture, fisheries and energy) to reconcile environmental objectives with decent job creation and inclusive development.
• Stimulating the development of local green enterprises through support to entrepreneurship, technological innovation and improved access to markets and finance, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), particularly subcontractors of multinational companies, to meet sustainability standards, comply with international requirements and integrate into global value chains.