48: The importance of a 'just transition' to a low carbon economy: Natasha Zervudachi World Benchmarking Alliance

The Elephant in the Room - A podcast by Sudha Singh

The importance of a 'just transition' to a low carbon economy: Natasha Zervudachi World Benchmarking Alliance Carbon neutrality, De-carbonisation, Carbon credits, Carbon offsets, Carbon sequestration, CFCs global warming, Adaptation fund, Kyoto Protocol, Bali Roadmap, Paris Agreement, G-77, UNFCCC are terms we are increasingly getting familiar with as more and more people across the world engage on issues of climate change. To that list add 'Just Transition' - an initiative of the World Benchmarking Alliance(WBA). In light of the crucial role the private sector has to play in achieving a low-carbon world, the WBA intends to assess 450 of the world's most influential companies in high-emitting sectors on their contribution to a just transition by assessing their alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement alongside their approach to addressing the social challenges of a low-carbon transition.β€―The assessment covers what the companies are doing to respect the rights of workers, communities and the most vulnerable as they work towards low-carbon goals. To learn more, I spoke with Natasha Zervudachi from the WBA about sustainability and sustainable development πŸ‘‡πŸΎπŸ‘‡πŸΎ πŸ‘‰πŸΎ The big challenges facing our planet πŸ‘‰πŸΎ How are governments and the private sector ensuring that as we work towards addressing climate change, we're not creating even greater inequalities or creating mass unemployment or increased poverty as a result of that transition to this new, more carbon neutral world? What we can do to ensure a 'just transition' that is fair and equitable πŸ‘‰πŸΎ What the WBA is doing to incentivise businesses to encourage uptake, learning from best practice and roadmaps for those at the start of the journey πŸ‘‰πŸΎ Steps the WBA is taking to ensure that 'just transition' balances voices from global south since advocacy on climate change and de-carbonisation is dominated by voices from global north πŸ‘‰πŸΎ The importance of embedding concerns of marginalised people in the design of the assessment πŸ‘‰πŸΎ The short term and long term ambitions of the WBA for the initiative; the 'Just Transition Coalition' and much more To learn more listen here πŸ‘‡πŸΎπŸ‘‡πŸΎ