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By Jess Midwinter
Climate activists at COP30, distinguishable by their red jackets and colorful ‘just transition’ bingo cards, called for climate talks to deliver on an outcome that puts people first.
The calls were made during a ‘Just Transition Bingo’ action organized by ActionAid and the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) inside the COP30 venue. Shouts of ‘We want just transition, and we want it now’ echoed through the corridors of the venue during the photo op. The reverse of the just transition bingo cards also had ‘greenwash bingo,’ listing the tools used by polluters to avoid real climate action.
Teresa Anderson, the Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid, said, “Women, workers, and communities need the chance to shape and benefit from climate plans that might affect them. Just transition approaches put steps in place to protect people and their rights so that they are not accidentally pushed into poverty from narrow carbon-counting approaches. It’s time for climate action to evolve and put people at the center, with a milestone decision on a global mechanism for just transition at COP30.”
Lidy Nacpil, a coordinator at the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, said, “COP30 is close to establishing a Just Transition Mechanism that, if decided, will be a big step towards delivering real action for the lives and livelihoods of millions, if not billions, of people. This could not have been possible without the unity and collective action of trade unions, social movements, indigenous peoples, and civil society pushing for a Belem Action Mechanism. We continue to call for the formal representation of all affected sectors in this mechanism. There can be no just transition without people’s rights and representation.”
