14 October 2024

Dear Ms Martin

Update to the United Kingdom’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)

We are writing to you regarding the ongoing process to update the United Kingdom’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), following the most recent update in September 2022.

We believe there is a clear opportunity for enhancement in terms of how just transition principles are set out. The current NDC text refers to a number of relevant issues within the section providing information to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding (ICTU).

The Commission’s view is that the revised NDC should, at the very least, include a commitment to the application of just transition principles to the domestic transition, specifying that Government must have regard to just transition when setting out plans to reduce emissions. These principles could usefully draw on those set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019, which identify the importance of reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases in a way which:

(a) supports environmentally and socially sustainable jobs,
(b) supports low-carbon investment and infrastructure,
(c) develops and maintains social consensus through engagement with workers, trade unions, communities, non-governmental, organisations, representatives of the interests of business and industry, and such other persons as [the Scottish] Ministers consider appropriate,
(d) creates decent, fair and high-value work in a way which does not negatively affect the current workforce and overall economy,
(e) contributes to resource efficient and sustainable economic approaches which help address inequality and poverty.

As the NDC is about future commitments through to 2030, we would further propose a just transition policy across the NDC which establishes an aim of addressing in a structured fashion the key “people issues” across all sectors (e.g. for workers, communities, small- and medium-sized enterprises, households, gender, equalities), including proven mechanisms for effective social dialogue and stakeholder engagement.

We note that approaches to the application of just transition principles have developed further since the above legislation in 2019, particularly via the 2023 Conference of the Parties (COP 28) which articulated a broadened focus beyond solely mitigation, as well as acknowledging the need to address inequalities between countries as well as within them. Since 2019, the Commission has identified a number of further relevant considerations, including the particular need for just transition policy to address existing inequalities and develop innovative social and economic approaches to support the creation of decent, fair and high value work.

Given the Scottish Government has been at the forefront of developing the process by which just transition principles are applied to mitigation and adaptation policy, we consider there would be particular weight to a request from the Scottish Government to the UK Government for the inclusion of a commitment to adopt a suitable (for UK-wide) version of the just transition principles as part of the forthcoming NDC update.

We look forward to hearing from you and would be glad to contribute to any further discussions on this matter.

Sincerely,

Professor Dave Reay and Satwat Rehman

Co-Chairs of the Just Transition Commission