The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges in human history. It not only threatens the natural foundations of life worldwide, but also the economic and social development of entire societies. Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius has become the linchpin of an ambitious, fair and development-promoting international climate policy that contributes to the protection of human lives and the preservation of livelihoods, biodiversity and species diversity. 

The term ‘Just Transition’ originated with the trade unions in the late 20th century and has become an integral part of trade union vocabulary. Initially conceptualized by labor movements, it emphasized securing the livelihoods and rights of workers amidst shifts towards sustainable industries. This concept has evolved into a broader vision of an inclusive society that strives for a low-carbon economy featuring green and unionized jobs. It advocates for a strategic approach that places trade unions and workers as central actors in economic and political decision-making processes, commonly referred to as social dialogue. A just transition, therefore, calls for the protection of workers' rights during the transition to a more sustainable world, ensuring that no one is left behind as economies move away from fossil-fuel-based industries. Achieving a just transition worldwide demands an equitable distribution of responsibilities for climate change mitigation and adaptation which necessitates global cooperation and solidarity. Principles such as common but differentiated responsibility, the polluter pays principle and ensuring compensation for vulnerable communities affected by loss and damages need to be upheld. Key principles of ensuring a Just Transition are workers’ rights protection, social equity and inclusion, environmental sustainability, community engagement and policy coherence.

Overcoming the global climate crisis, requires mitigation and adaptation measures that are just and based on the involvement of all stakeholders. The moment to decarbonise the global economy is also a moment to restructure it to end inequality, marginalisation and current global imbalances. The instrument of a social dialogue offers the opportunity for a coordinated, just and inclusive transition.

With its project “Just Transition through Social Dialogue”, FES aims to support a just, fair, and inclusive transition to a low-carbon economy by emphasizing social dialogue as the main instrument. The participating country offices will focus on the agriculture, energy, and mining sectors. They will work to support their trade union partners in negotiating for their constituents' interests, forming strong and broad alliances with the climate justice movement, and establishing a social dialogue process in their respective countries. The goal is to achieve concrete results such as protecting and creating decent work, ensuring gender and climate justice, and contributing to an inclusive economy.

The project “Just Transition” forms part of the thematic fields of Energy and Climate Justice as well as Trade Union Cooperation.

Rapid urbanisation in Africa, coupled with demographic change, is the key driver of transformation in the next 50 years: the future of the continent will be decided in its rapidly growing cities. Africa's urban population will double by the middle of the century, and the majority of Africans will live in cities by 2040. Governments will be measured by the extent to which they can provide public services, access to affordable housing and mobility in cities for all - regardless of social and economic background or gender. So far, people are moving to and living in “unjust” cities, which were often built in the colonial era and where neoliberal urban policies are further reinforcing historical inequalities. Read more about reasons for moving to cities from rural areas in our survey project.

The majority of African urban dwellers live in informal settlements, work in precarious conditions, mostly in the informal sector, without work contracts, social security and often without prospects. In addition, 70 per cent of global CO2 emissions are produced in cities. Urbanisation accelerates existing social and economic inequalities and the climate crisis. Most of the urban infrastructure required on the continent has not yet been built. Who gets to benefit from this infrastructure and urban public goods is one of the most important socio-political debates in the 21st century in Africa. Technical solutions alone, currently prioritised by national decision-makers as well as bilateral and multilateral actors, will not suffice to reduce the growing urban inequality on the African continent. For an equitable and redistributive urban policy in Africa, socio-political power relations must change. These are contested.

For the “unjust” city to become a “just” one, a democratisation of decisions about housing, transport, a fairer distribution of land, healthcare and public land, healthcare and public safety is needed from the municipal to the national level. This also requires international support. The aim is to enable and shape a people-centred urban transformation towards a “Just City”. Under the same name, the FES pursues a continental project which initiates and promotes debates about concrete political strategies on the path towards socially and gender-equitable urbanisation in Africa.

The project “Just City” forms part of the thematic field of Social Democracy.

The Project

The major United Nations stabilisation missions in Africa are increasingly coming to an end. Against the backdrop of a new multipolar reality, the African continent has seen a large number of African-led peace missions in recent years. While some African states claim the initiative and leadership of ad hoc coalitions and missions on the continent, the comprehensive framework of the African Union continues to exist to promote African ownership of peace support interventions on the continent.

The international work of the FES seeks to strengthen multilateral approaches to peace and security based on the principle of collective security. The project therefore focuses on the question of how interest politics in the regional neighbourhood and value-based multilateralism can be reconciled. The intention is to strengthen regionally led and internationally supported African approaches to peace and security and civil society participation in them. The project aims to work with FES partners on the African continent to develop concrete criteria that “donor countries”, troop contributors and regional and international multilateral organisations can use to provide political, financial and/or material support for military-led interventions in Africa.

Our Approach

FES has long-standing and trustful relationships with its partners in civil society and politics as well as an extensive network with access to policy makers in multilateral institutions and capitals around the world.  Building on these, FES can act as a unique link between the lived realities of the African continent's population, civil society actors, including academia and think tanks, African and international policy makers.

The project aims to stimulate debates on the future of peacebuilding and peace enforcement. The aim is to strengthen the inclusivity of policy-making processes and outcomes, improve the transparency and accountability of military interventions and influence the design and support of missions in a way that is conducive to long-term democratic stabilization. The project therefore intends to broaden and deepen confidence building and dialogue at national, continental and international levels.

Coordinated by the FES Centre of Excellence for Peace and Security in Dakar, the FES offices in Mali, Benin, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan as well as the FES Liaison Office to the African Union are members of the project. Key target groups include civil society actors in countries receiving and deploying troops in international peace support operations; members of the legislative and executive branches of national governments receiving or deploying troops from peacekeeping missions; members of regional and continental peace and security mechanisms such as IGAD, ECOWAS, SADC, African Union and their regional standby forces; German, European and international policy makers and multilateral institutions such as the United Nations.

The project “The future of peace support operations in Africa” forms part of the thematic field of Peace and Security.