Nations are grappling with the deep societal transformation required for a net zero emissions future, and that the path to net zero must be a fair transition that upholds human rights. The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change (ICJ AO) has now specified that as a minimum, the “[f]ailure of a State to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from GHG emissions — including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licenses or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies — may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that State.” The state also has positive duties to provide a just transition, which has multiple definitions. A 'just transition' is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as “Greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind”. The Human Rights Council Resolution 56/8 recognized the imperative of a just transition of the workforce, "to enhance sustainable development and uphold the human rights of all, with particular attention to workers, affected communities and persons in vulnerable situations". The UN Secretary-General defines a “just transition” to move beyond a focus on workforces to mean "a transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all that is fair, equitable and inclusive, creates decent work opportunities, reduces inequalities and poverty, and enhances and upholds all human rights, including the right to development and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment”. But many feminists fear that the just transition focus for states is narrowly targeted to male workers in fossil fuel industries in politically important locations.
In 2025, state parties adopted a decision at the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) that calls for the development of a Just Transition Action Mechanism and transition pathways that uphold human and labour rights, social dialogue, gender equality and the needs of marginalised communities. The same COP adopted the Belém gender action plan, which contains many crucial feminist elements advocated for by the ecofeminist movement. But in many other ways, COP30 was a disaster in terms of meeting national targets, adaptation planning and real accountability to phase out fossil fuels, so much so that the planet is still on track for a brutal 'overshoot' era of around 2.6 degree warming. What does a feminist lens bring to the concept of a just transition, and can feminist principles improve the current mechanisms to deliver a just transition at a national level in the midst of rolling polycrises?
