How the Belém Action Mechanism stands to deliver a concrete path to gender-just transition
By Sinéad Magner, WEDO Coordinator of Programs and Policy
As the second week of the COP30 negotiations kicks off in Belém, feminists, Indigenous Peoples, youth, environmental movements, trade unions, and more are holding their breath to see if the climate negotiations can finally deliver something that makes a just transition — which WEDO considers in a broad sense as the idea of systematically dismantling current harmful and oppressive systems and replacing them with systems of care —a tangible reality for communities on the ground. Front and centre are the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) negotiations, and a civil society and trade union-proposed initiative: the Belém Action Mechanism for a Just Transition (BAM).
Last week brought encouraging signs. Parties across the board acknowledged the urgent need to shift the Just Transition Work Programme from planning to implementation — a significant step forward from the divergence witnessed at June’s UNFCCC SB intersessionals, the technical negotiations held midway between annual COP meetings. The efforts of the Women & Gender Constituency and other rightsholder constituencies are alive and evident in the current negotiating text, which features robust principles; clear language on climate finance not through loans; recognition of the importance of integrating just transition into national climate policies; and, crucially, a call to establish new institutional arrangements. These arrangements would create a permanent home for just transition within the UNFCCC, extending beyond the JTWP’s scheduled completion next year.
What exactly is the BAM, and what does it stand to deliver for gender justice and human rights?
The BAM represents a proposed new institutional arrangement — a formal body under the UNFCCC with both operational and implementation mandates. Designed to address the current inadequacy of global just transition efforts, it would transform principles into practice by serving as a global hub for practitioners, facilitating dialogue, sharing best practices, and generating knowledge to inform policy. Through its help desk function, the BAM would matchmake between projects and funders while mobilizing finance not through loans and technology transfer, particularly for the Global South. Critically, with the observer constituencies (thematically grouped non-governmental organizations, or special rightsholder groups such as Indigenous Peoples or trade unions) formally included in the mechanism’s governance, the BAM would operationalise implementation while institutionalising one of the most fundamental pillars of Just Transition — meaningful participation.
If built correctly, the mechanism stands to advance a gender-transformative just transition in a tangible way. The JTWP text currently under negotiation enshrines care work, informal labor sectors, gender-responsive approaches, and social protection systems as fundamental elements that must be integrated into just transition policies, plans, and strategies. The BAM would catalyze implementation by serving as both a repository and generator of new practices, connecting countries seeking assistance with practitioners and peers on similar pathways. Consider how this would work in practice:
- As a connector of knowledge: When a country beginning to plan its transition strategy needs guidance on integrating care work and informal work, the help desk provides tailored case studies, best practices, and toolkits appropriate to their specific context, enabling them to get to work, integrating gender from the outset, and in the right way.
- As a connector of actors: When a country with an existing just transition plan identifies gaps in gender responsiveness through public consultations, the help desk pairs them with a country that has strong gender-responsive policies to mentor and accompany them through the process. They are also connected with countries at similar stages for peer-to-peer support and learning exchanges.
- As a connector of resources: When a community-level care and climate initiative needs funding to scale up their work, the help desk provides potential funding sources, connecting them to a donor partner who funds their project.
Showing that multilateralism can deliver
The establishment of the BAM represents a rare opportunity to connect what is happening at the multilateral climate negotiations with what is happening on the ground. It would transform the distant aspiration for many countries of a just transition into a tangible and accessible possibility for workers and communities worldwide. In our current context of broken multilateralism, the BAM is a creation that shows that the global climate negotiations can deliver for ordinary people.
As discussions move to the higher ministerial level this week, political leadership is vital. The path forward faces challenges. Like many other workstreams, these negotiations take place in a highly polarized room, and success will require strong, purposeful leadership from Brazil as the COP30 host. Yet, the possibility of alignment may be closer than many realize. A well-designed mechanism represents a win-win for all Parties, meeting each country’s needs regardless of where they stand in their just transition journey. The BAM isn’t just another institutional arrangement — it’s a bridge between ambition and action, between global commitments and local realities, between the promise of just transition and its delivery for the workers and communities who need it most.
Want to know more about the BAM? Read the discussion paper authored by Climate Action Network and the Women & Gender Constituency.
