Asia-Pacific Just Transitions: Equity & Belonging

Communities across the Asia-Pacific region are confronting both the intensifying impacts of climate change and the shifting dynamics of extractive economies, according to a new white paper. The study, conducted by the Global Justice Program at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, details how local and regional organizations are working toward just transitions that prioritize equity, local grounding, and restorative practices.

Findings from the Study

The white paper, Asia–Pacific Just Transitions: Assessing the Activities, Strategies, and Needs of Asia-Pacific Climate, Agri-food, and Environmental Organizations, utilized both an online content analysis of 796 organizations across 60 countries and territories and a comprehensive survey of 60 Asia-Pacific organizations to assess their work.

Online Content Analysis Reveals Varied Approaches

The study found that while explicit use of the “Just Transition” framework is limited across the Asia–Pacific, the underlying principles are widely adopted. References to “Just Transition” are most common in industrialized economies like Japan, South Korea, and Australia, and in resource-dependent economies such as Indonesia and Kazakhstan. Elsewhere, organizations articulate similar principles through frameworks like sustainable development, climate justice, food sovereignty, and Indigenous self-determination.

Key findings across subregions include:

• Central Asia: Initiatives in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan focus on sustainable development, water security, and renewable energy, often within state-led frameworks.
• East Asia: Countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan link environmental policy to economic modernization, with civil society focusing on energy justice and food sovereignty.
• Oceania: Island nations prioritize adaptation, Indigenous stewardship, and the protection of land and marine territories, linking just transitions to decolonization and self-determination.
• South Asia: Grassroots movements in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka concentrate on food sovereignty, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods.
• Southeast Asia: Organizations in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam address agrarian justice, deforestation, and energy transition, resisting extractive capitalism.
• West Asia: Gulf States emphasize state-led “green growth,” while civil society organizations frame climate work as part of broader struggles for social justice and labor rights.

Survey Highlights Organizational Priorities and Challenges

Survey responses indicated that organizations focus on communities including rural populations, Indigenous peoples, farmers, youth, and women. Primary concerns include rising temperatures, water shortages, pollution, deforestation, and food insecurity.

Organizations prioritize education, advocacy, and policy reform in the short term, and systemic economic transformation toward sustainability and autonomy in the long term. They utilize frameworks such as food sovereignty and agroecology in South and Southeast Asia, climate justice in East and West Asia, and sustainable development in Central Asia and Oceania.

The survey also revealed that while international partnerships are seen as somewhat adequate, they often reproduce power imbalances and funding dependency. Organizations called for Global North NGOs and institutions to redirect climate finance, provide unrestricted funding, support technology transfer, and amplify the voices of Asia-Pacific organizations.

The study emphasizes that just transitions in the Asia-Pacific are diverse and require support for regional organizations on their own terms, moving beyond extractive partnerships toward reparative approaches that address historical inequalities.

Citation: Elsadig Elsheikh, Hossein Ayazi, and Basima Sisemore, “Asia-Pacific Just Transitions: Assessing the Activities, Strategies, and Needs of Asia-Pacific Climate, Agri-food, and Environmental Organizations” (Berkeley, CA: Othering & Belonging Institute, December 2025), belonging.berkeley.edu/asia-pacific-just-transitions.