How do you want to read this?

Plain English. Technical adds agenda codes and official documents.Agenda codes, document names and formal wording, for people who follow the process.

Workers · Paris Agreement agenda, item 5

How do we protect workers and communities as the world moves off fossil fuels?

UAE just transition work programme: just transition mechanism

Moving away from fossil fuels means some jobs, towns and national budgets will lose out. A "" means doing it in a way that is fair to them.

At COP30, countries agreed to create a new to help with this: sharing know-how, training and technical support. They did not decide how it works. That is the job for COP31.

Operationalisation of the just transition mechanism that CMA 7 decided to develop: functions, institutional arrangements and workplan.

CMA 7 decided to develop a just transition mechanism under the UAE just transition work programme, with support prioritising grants and non-debt-creating instruments.

Talks resume on 9 NovemberResumes at COP31, 9 November

Why it matters

Coal, oil and gas jobs will change. This is about who gets support when they do.

How we got here

2015
COP21, Paris
The mentions a just transition for workers, in its preamble only.
2022
COP27, Sharm el-Sheikh
Countries open a on just transition pathways.
2023
COP28, Dubai
The work programme gets its rules and is named after the UAE.
2025
COP30, Belém
Countries agree to develop a just transition mechanism, with support mainly as grants rather than loans.
2026
June talks, Bonn
In Bonn most countries accepted a package with a list of possible elements for the mechanism, but some objected, and they still disagree on whether it should be a new body with its own money. Source

Where COP31 picks up: COP30 agreed a mechanism should exist. Bonn produced a list of possible elements; COP31 has to decide what it does and who runs it.

Have COPs worked? The bigger picture →

What they will argue aboutOpen issues

What will it actually do? Advice and training only, or also help countries find money.
Who runs it? A new committee, an existing UN body, and whether workers and unions get a seat.
Who pays for it? COP30 said support should come mostly as grants, not loans. The details are open.

Functions. Technical assistance, capacity-building and knowledge-sharing; role in mobilising support.
Institutional arrangements. Governing body, secretariat support, observer participation, links to existing bodies.
Resources. How the mechanism itself is funded.

Agenda items

Paris Agreement agenda, item 5United Arab Emirates just transition work programme

From the provisional agendas, FCCC/CP/2026/1 and FCCC/PA/CMA/2026/1. Draft texts, versions and bracket counts appear here once talks open.

What has happened so farStatus log

This question carries on from COP30 (see How we got here, above). Talks resume on 9 November: from then, every new draft and every change of status is listed here, with the time and a link to the document.

Only on WhatTheCOP

Want to hear it discussed? Pavilion sessions on this

Wed 11 Nov · 10:30Zero Waste, Healthy Cities and Healthy Workers: Advancing Climate and Health Justice in the Global South
Health Pavilion Wed 11 Nov · 11:30From Just Transition to Just Opportunity: Building the Green Workforce for an Inclusive Transition
Denmark Pavilion Thu 12 Nov · 11:15Climate Justice and Methane Mitigation in the Waste Sector: From Local Action to Just Transition
Regional Climate Foundations Pavilion Fri 13 Nov · 12:30Financing Resilience and a Just Transition through Solidarity Levies and Taxation
Regional Climate Foundations Pavilion Sat 14 Nov · 09:00The ICJ Advisory Opinion and Health in Climate Action: From Legal Obligations to Negotiation Practice for Youth
Health Pavilion Sat 14 Nov · 10:00Youth Power for the Green Transition: Zero Waste, Technology and Next-Generation Employment
Türkiye Pavilion

The whole programme →