G20 SOCIAL
Debates focused on actions to promote a just transition and on the importance of environment and climate funds in this process. Virtual event was coordinated by the Sustainable Finance Working Group with participation of international civil society.
06/29/2024 2:00 PM – Modified a day ago
“Finance for a just transition” was the main topic in the cycle of meetings held by the Finance Track and G20 Social. The virtual event took place on Wednesday (26) with the participation of international civil society. Divided into two sessions, the debates focused on actions to promote a just transition and on the importance of environmental and climate funds in this process.
At the opening, the undersecretary of Financing for Sustainable Development at Brasil’s Ministry of Finance (Ministério da Fazenda) Ivan Oliveira—coordinator of the WG—presented the Group’s work and reiterated the importance of popular participation in advancing these topics.
“We are creating a toolbox for these issues, and have already selected 12 good examples from different sectors and scenarios, in different countries, so that we can offer instruments that have greater potential for replication and that facilitate a just transition in developing countries—not just through access to the funds, but with a technical assistance agenda,” said Oliveira during his briefing to participants on the activities of the Sustainable Finance Working Group.
“I want to mention the fundamental idea of taking climate investors to projects carried out by relevant stakeholders and of considering mitigation based on developing countries. To investigate directly in and with communities, since understanding their demands makes financing more efficient. To leverage existing solutions with these populations that are generally the most marginalized, but who carry out the most transformative work, also from a perspective of human rights and gender equality,” said Tara Daniel from WEDO.
The Working Group’s mission is to identify institutional and market barriers to these finance models; develop options to overcome such obstacles; and contribute to better alignment of the international financial system with the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. Inviting civil society to participate in these discussions clarifies the process by enabling the exchange of ideas and the promotion of useful and innovative suggestions.
Global environment and climate funds
The first session addressed the costs of climate change mitigation and adaption measures, as well as facilitating access to international funds. Contributions were given by representatives of Greenpeace and the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO).
“I want to mention the fundamental idea of taking climate investors to projects carried out by relevant stakeholders and of considering mitigation based on developing countries. To investigate directly in and with communities, since understanding their demands makes financing more efficient. To leverage existing solutions with these populations that are generally the most marginalized, but who carry out the most transformative work, also from a perspective of human rights and gender equality,” said Tara Daniel from WEDO.
“We must be clear about who will pay for this crisis, and reinforce that people who pollute pay what is fair. So, at the G20, we need to make sure that not only billionaires pay more, but that big polluters also undergo a taxation system. If the large fossil fuel producers were taxed, we could add around 900 billion dollars annually by 2030, for instance,” explained Greenpeace’s Camila Jardim.
The Environmental and Climate Sustainability Working Group has also been debating green funds in the Sherpa Track. Last week in Manaus the topic was the Tropical Forests Forever initiative (Florestas Tropicais para Sempre). The Brazilian government’s proposal was announced at COP28 at the end of last year and consists of creating a global fund to pay for maintenance and restoration of the tropical rainforests which exist in more than 60 countries. The proposal is that a fixed annual value be paid for each hectare of standing forest, and that there be a discount on the amount to be received for each deforested or degraded hectare.
Just Transition
In the second session, the discussion considered that social inequality causes the impacts of climate change to be felt in different ways from one country to another, and by different social groups. Via Campesina and Plataforma Cipó also contributed.
“Agroecology is a global solution, a system for a just transition which creates abundant and healthy food; it is a science based on ancestral knowledge and which can be practiced in different regions; a path to food sovereignty, which respects people. Debating this here, today, is crucial within the current climate context,” said Via Campesina’s Jesús Vásquez.
“We consider technology to be an essential aspect of the just transition. Around ¾ of sustainable energy technology patents come from just four countries—Germany, the United States, India, and Japan—which are also the largest employers in the field. So, in our opinion, the G20 must act to correct this imbalance,” said Maiara Folly from Plataforma Cipó.
In the Sherpa Track, the Employment Working Group has also been dealing with these aspects, focusing on the impacts on workers. “The Imperative of a Just Transition” was the center of the debates at the WG meeting at the beginning of the month in Geneva, Switzerland, within the scope of the 112th International Labour Conference.
The cycle of meetings—inviting civil society to make suggestions within the scope of the Finance Track—is an unprecedented initiative by the Brazilian G20 presidency. This time it brought together more than a hundred people online, through live broadcast on the Ministry of Finance’s channel on YouTube. Previously, along the same lines, “Global Economy and Inequalities” and “Civil Society and International Taxation” were on the agenda.