06 Jul 2026

Minister for International Relations, Dr Phenyo Butale, has called on African countries to take deliberate steps to ensure the continent’s transition to a low-carbon economy is fair, inclusive and creates opportunities for its people rather than deepening existing inequalities.

Officially opening the Just Transition Platform (JTP) Convening 2026 in Gaborone recently, Dr Butale said the debate was no longer about whether the global transition would happen, but about ensuring Africa charts a pathway that protected workers, empowered communities and promoted sustainable economic growth.

He said a Just Transition must place people at the centre of development, by supporting workers whose livelihoods had historically depended on traditional industries while creating new opportunities for young people, women, entrepreneurs and local communities. “We must ensure that no country, no worker and no community is left behind,” he emphasised.

Dr Butale said Botswana understood the responsibility, having built its development on the prudent management of natural resources. He noted that as global demand for critical minerals continued to grow, African countries should seize the opportunity to move beyond exporting raw materials and instead invest in value addition, industrialisation, innovation and skills development that create jobs and improve livelihoods.

He further stressed that stronger regional cooperation, fairer climate financing and greater accountability would be critical to ensuring that the benefits of the green transition were shared equitably. Governments, investors, communities and development partners must move beyond commitments and work together to implement practical solutions, Dr Butale said.

ITUC-Africa Programme Lead for Climate and Just Transition and Co-Convener of the Just Transition Platform, Ms Rhoda Boateng, said the Botswana meeting marked a significant milestone in the evolution of the Platform as it entered its second phase of work.

Ms Boateng explained that the Just Transition Platform was conceived during the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow in 2021, where environmental justice organisations, labour movements, gender advocates and academics began developing a common African vision for a Just Transition. Subsequent meetings in Accra, Mauritius and Nairobi helped shape and launch the Platform’s Just Transition Principles.

She said the Gaborone convening now shifted the focus from developing principles to identifying practical pathways for implementation across key sectors, including the world of work, trade, finance and investment, energy transition, agriculture, forestry and land use, and the care economy.

Ms Boateng said approximately 40 delegates from different countries were attending the four-day meeting, where they participated in 12 high-level sessions examining issues such as critical minerals, green industrialisation, climate finance, labour productivity, social protection and accountability in the transition to greener economies.

Hosted by the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) in partnership with ITUC-Africa, the convening was held under the theme: Weaving Just Transition Principles into Pathways.

The meeting brought together governments, labour organisations, development partners, civil society and academia to co-create practical policy pathways that will ensure Africa’s transition to a low-carbon future delivers decent work, social justice and sustainable development for all. ENDS