What is Just Energy Transition Partnerships?

Climate change is everyone’s problem. However, we do not feel its impacts equally. The opposite is also true—some nations are more responsible for climate change than others. As we are trying to limit global heating to 1.5°C, the readiness of the world’s nations varies. Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) aim to bridge that gap.

Just Energy Transition Partnerships

Essentially, JETP is a financing mechanism. In a Partnership, wealthier nations fund a coal-dependent developing nation to support the country’s own path to phase-out coal and transition towards clean energy while addressing the social consequences. 

The social aspect is important here. Robust protection and proactive measures are crucial in JETP plans because a significant portion of the population will be affected. Reskilling, upskilling, and creating new jobs are among the ways to ensure a just energy transition for workers and communities.

JETP funding can go through grants, loans, or investments. As of March 2023, the donor pool includes the International Partners Group (IPG) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Working Group. The IPG consists of Japan, the USA, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the EU, and the UK. The GFANZ Working Group comprises multilateral and national development banks and finance agencies such as HSBC and Citi Bank. 

South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam

The first Just Energy Transition Partnership was with South Africa and was announced at COP 26 Glasgow in November 2021. The funders, five of the current IPG members, pledged 8.5 billion USD in the first financing round. A year later, at COP 27 Sharm El Sheikh, South Africa published its JETP Implementation Plan (JETP IP). This JETP is expected to prevent up to 1-1.5 gigatons of emissions from the atmosphere over the next 20 years. 

The second Partnership was announced at the G20 Bali Summit in November 2022. Indonesia is set to receive an initial 20 billion USD in public and private financing over the next three to five years. The donors will assist via grants, concessional loans, market-rate loans, guarantees, private investments, and technical assistance. In February 2023, Indonesia launched the Secretariat for the Just Energy Transition Partnership. 

The next one was Vietnam. The Vietnam JETP was announced in December 2022 after a lengthy negotiation process. This Partnership will assist Vietnam in finance, technology, and capacity building. It will also support the country’s policy and regulation improvement to increase private investment in renewable energy. The initial fund for the next three to five years is 15.5 billion USD. Vietnam is expected to publish its JETP Resource Mobilization Plan (JETP – RMP) by November 2023.

More to Come

Multinational, multi-sector, and multi-stakeholder collaborations are the key to a just global energy transition to tackle climate change issues. According to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Philippines, Senegal, and India are meeting with JEPT donor countries. Mandy Rambharos of EDF said, “This is an approach we believe can be scaled, replicated, and measured.”

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