Caja de herramientas para diseño de políticas públicas para una transición justa

Abstract

Climate actions are urgent to avoid the harmful effects of climate change processes and the impacts on vulnerable sectors of society. However, they can lead to job losses in sectors of the economy associated with mining and fossil fuels. In this dilemma, the Just Transition (JT) seeks to progressively reduce the activity of environmentally harmful industries, while defining alternatives for the workers of these industries. As part of the transition, there is a tendency to decarbonize the economy and anticipate and manage the impacts of the most vulnerable populations and regions. The JT's pillars are economic development, job quality, and social dialogue, and its main challenges are in governance, policy design and implementation, social dialogue, and financing.

In the case of Colombia, the country gas assumed the commitment to reduce 51% of its emissions in 2030, the Ministry of Labor is in the process of building the Strategy for fair transitions of the workforce, and the Ministry of Mines and Energy the Strategy for the Just Energy Transition. Likewise, the PND 2022-2026 contains JT actions that include the diversification of the economy, and there are other public policy tools that favor just transition. Some of the country's challenges in this regard are the labor market, the clear identification of impacts, and financing.

To improve the context of public policy regarding just transition, Colombia should focus its efforts on effective governance and institutional arrangements; measuring the possible impacts of the policy; the construction of spaces of trust for social dialogue; and the design and implementation of public policies.