Accelerating a just transition to greener and more circular economy models

The event aimed to showcase inclusive solutions for advancing a just green economic transition including fiscal policies and repurposing of harmful subsidies through whole-of-government and whole-of-society policy frameworks; advocate for integrated solutions within and across the agendas of the three Rio Convention COPs in 2024 and linked MEAs, and for the incorporation of green and circular considerations into national and sectoral policies; and provide a platform for South-South and Triangular Cooperation on green and circular economy for the just transition including from informal to formal sector livelihoods.

The panel and participants discussed various solutions to accelerate a transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all.  Apoorva Arya talked about how businesses need to be incentivised to ensure they spend more money on designing better products, designing for disassembly, and better materials than plastics.

Participants also recognized the fundamental role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation to scale up and accelerate the just transition – not only through government-to-government cooperation, but also knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning between entrepreneurs and private sector entities, as well as between Indigenous Peoples.

Jonas Haertle, Chief, Office of Executive Director at UNITAR, underscored the need to address the question of fairness and social justice in order to accelerate to accelerate the transition towards green and circular economies. He concluded that “we shall judge our success, not only by investments flowing towards cleaner technologies and circular business models, but how these new economic opportunities are benefitting the most vulnerable in society”.