Companies Use ‘Just Transition’ Language to Promote Fossil Fuels, Report Shows

A new report from non-profit transparency advocate InfluenceMap found that corporations are attempting to hijack the “Just Transition” concept, making vague references to the idea and even using it to promote continued dependence on fossil fuels.

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The third annual High-Level Ministerial Round Table on the topic of a “Just Transition” took place at COP30 in Belém, Brazil on Tuesday, giving further hope that the concept first mooted in the Paris Agreement will gain concrete action through the Belém Action Mechanism for a Global Just Transition (BAM).

BAM is a proposal for states to drive action on a just transition towards a low-carbon economy, and lies at the center of discussions at the UN summit. Key to these negotiations is a common understanding of what exactly a “just transition” consists of. However, according to a new report by InfluenceMap, corporate language now seeks to co-opt the term.

“Influential corporate actors have an established record of greenwashing, in which high-level statements of support for climate action are contradicted by lobbying against ambitious climate policy,” Emilia Piziak, Research Manager at InfluenceMap, told Earth.Org in an email.

“InfluenceMap’s new analysis of communications using the term just transition’ suggests a similar kind of hypocrisy risks going unchecked in this sphere, with many key companies and industry groups citing the value of a ‘just transition’ without any accompanying commitment to driving this forward, and in the most egregious cases, actively co-opting just transition language to slow the energy transition and promote fossil fuels,” she added.

The findings show that the majority (69%) of company and industry association communications tracked made only vague references to a Just Transition and did not engage meaningfully with the concept. Meanwhile, only one fifth (20%) of company and industry association communications combined their use of Just Transition with clear support for an urgent transition away from fossil fuels and operational measures to drive an equitable transition. Furthermore, 11% of company and industry association communications tracked leveraged Just Transition language to argue for an extended role for fossil fuels in the energy mix. 

InfluenceMap found 292 companies and industry associations in the LobbyMap database used the term Just Transition in their public-facing communications between 2022 and 2024.

Between 2022 and 2024, the number of references to the concept increased overall. While its use in both the context of promoting fossil fuels and alongside support for complementary measures rose gradually, broad references to the term in these corporate communications increased significantly.

The majority (69%) of companies’ and industry associations’ public communications that referenced Just Transition were vague and were not accompanied by meaningful engagement with the concept, falling into either the Name Dropping (29%) or Broad Reference (40%) categories. The energy sector in particular leads this over-reliance on high-level language, accounting for over a fifth of engagement across both categories.

Around 20% of the communication engaged with the term in a meaningful way, expressing clear urgency to both transition away from fossil fuels in line with IPCC timelines and ensure social protections for vulnerable workers and communities. 

However, the companies that use the term in a meaningful way also communicate inconsistently on the topic, with some even lobbying against science-aligned policy pathways in other contexts. 

11% of communications used Just Transition language to argue for an extended role for fossil fuels in the energy mix, with the energy and utility sectors the most prominent in this category. The most common sub-narratives within this category attempt to label fossil fuels as “just transition” fuels, and emphasize that fossil fuels are necessary for energy security and affordability.

“This research demonstrates how corporate actors have recognized the value in using the term ‘just transition’ in order to build public and policymaker trust. However, most of these communications lack any demonstration of, or commitment to, robust action for driving that just transition,” Jennifer Gullery, Senior Analyst at InfluenceMap, said in a statement. “Furthermore, actors within the fossil fuel value chain are shown to have actively co-opted just transition language to slow the energy transition and promote fossil fuels.”

During COP30, fossil fuel lobbyists have used tactics in line with previous COP sessions to delay negotiations. Meanwhile, a coalition of business groups representing 70,000 companies and the C40 group of cities issued a statement urging leaders at COP30 to agree on a roadmap away from fossil fuels, and on Tuesday afternoon, ministers and climate envoys from more than 20 countries called for a “roadmap” away from fossil fuels to be a key outcome of this COP.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons.