Belém and Paris, 24 November 2025. The decision adopted at the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) calls for the development of a Just Transition Action Mechanism and transition pathways that uphold human and labour rights, social dialogue, gender equality and the needs of marginalised communities. It marks a breakthrough – demanded by FIDH and its members and partners, as well as the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) – in strengthening social justice in climate action, making this the strongest human rights language ever at COP.
"The Just Transition text is a first victory for rights and the planet. A transition without human rights at its core will only replicate business as usual instead of empowering people in the move towards a fossil-free future. Now governments must take the final steps to formalise the Just Transition Action Mechanism by the next COP, and ensure this process and all next steps are meaningfully guided by the voices and solutions brought forward by civil society, workers, frontline communities and Indigenous Peoples", said Joaquín Nieto, FIDH’s Vice-President and just transition expert.
While not perfect, the text crucially affirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including self-determination and free, prior and informed consent, so often violated by both transition mining activities and the expansion of fossil projects. The document recognises at last the care economy, an essential element for gender transformation since women perform 75% of unpaid care work globally. In parallel negotiations of the Gender Action Plan, civil society secured the first-ever reference to environmental defenders in a UN climate text.
If the Work Programme delivered some wins, the rest of the Belém Political Package proved disheartening and added to the fact that multilateral climate governance needs serious reform to rise to the challenge. Among many missed opportunities, the main decision failed to mention the need for a fossil fuel phaseout and agree on a practical roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. The Presidency backed a proposal to reflect on this outside the United Nations (UN) process, building on an initiative backed by Colombia and about 80 other States.
"We are already on a path toward 2.6°C of warming. Tipping points are being crossed with increasing speed and force. Meanwhile, a fossil fuel phaseout keeps being tackled with timid, voluntary agreements while we witness the erosion of the foundations necessary for human survival. The International Court of Justice affirmed what science and frontline communities have long asserted: ending dependence on fossil fuels is a human rights imperative to immediately abide by", said Maddalena Neglia, Head of FIDH’s Business, Human Rights & Environment Desk.
"Nothing short of a profound shift from fossil fuel economies to human rights-based economies is acceptable. Frontline communities, environmental human rights defenders and Indigenous Peoples cannot endure another cycle of empty promises while their lives, lands and livelihoods are destroyed. A just transition, inclusive of a full fossil fuels phaseout and adequate climate finance from developed countries to least-responsible ones, must happen now to prevent the worst", concluded Hugo Gabbero, Head of FIDH’s Human Rights Defenders Protection Desk.