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WELA Report: Feminist Just Transitions

Feminist Just Transitions: Learning from global approaches, strengthening Australian action

On 1 May 2026, Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA) convened a Feminist Just Transitions Roundtable in Naarm (Melbourne).

The convening brought together advocates, academics, government, community representatives, and First Nations leaders to explore two critical questions:

  • How do we centre communities, women and gender-diverse people’s leadership, and First Nations justice and knowledge in Australia’s transition?
  • What does it take to make a feminist just transition real?

These reports capture the insights, case studies, and recommendations from that day.

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Download the summary report

“Climate change may be driven by emissions, but the transition itself is fundamentally about power, democracy, and self-determination. A feminist just transition centres the rights of communities – particularly women, Indigenous peoples, workers, and rural communities – to shape the futures they want to live in.”

– Roundtable participant Nikita Patodia, Resource Mobilisation Director for JASS (Mumbai, India)

WELA Recommendations

The below recommendations were developed by WELA in response to the discussions and perspectives shared throughout the roundtable.

In Australia

1.Co-create with First Nations women

All levels of government, industry and civil society must co-create just transition solutions with First Nations women, integrating their knowledge and leadership within the design and implementation of policies, programs and investments. At the heart of this work must be recognition of First Nations land rights and Treaty.

First Nations women are already leading place-based solutions. Governments, industry and civil society must work alongside them and ensure their knowledge, leadership and solutions are recognised and resourced.

2.Recognise women’s contributions

Stakeholders at all levels of government, civil society and industry must elevate and recognise women’s unpaid contributions in leading the transition within their communities and regions. Women are already driving change and building community resilience, but this leadership is often invisible and under-resourced.

3.Platform and support women’s solutions

First Nations women, regional women, and women in migrant and refugee communities have solutions that are place-based and best suited to their community’s needs. Industry, governments and civil society should increase their understanding of diverse women’s experiences and solutions, and invest in them through meaningful place-based engagement and funding.

4.Ensure economic benefits for all women

There must be an intersectional gender lens applied to funding for the transition and an equitable share of financial benefits, grant funding and future investments to ensure that women, from all backgrounds and communities, are economically benefiting from the transition.

5.Expand the evidence base

The roundtable highlighted the urgency of elevating context-specific, community-grounded knowledge to inform and shape Australia’s policies and investments. All actors must support and strengthen First Nations data sovereignty, community-led research and research partnerships that can highlight women’s stories and spotlight care work as critical climate infrastructure.

6.Bring a gender lens to the narrative

Civil society, particularly climate and environmental actors, must lead a shift in advocacy to more broadly encompass the stories of women in regional and urban communities leading the just transition. We must call for changes that will economically and socially benefit women from all backgrounds.

7.Build collective power

There is power in building a strong feminist just transitions movement in Australia. Essential to this is standing in solidarity, building broad coalitions and amplifying the calls of First Nations advocates, community organisations and feminist, climate and social justice movements working for a more equitable transition.

Ahead of COP31

The Australian Government and Minister Bowen, as President of Negotiations at COP31, should:

1.Champion implementation of the Just Transition Mechanism

Move the Just Transition Mechanism process forward and champion implementation as a political priority. This means laying the groundwork at pre-COP meetings and negotiations, paving the way for the adoption of a robust implementation framework for the Just Transition Mechanism at COP31.

2.Embed feminist frameworks

Embed the Women and Gender Constituency’s proposed implementation model of the Just Transition Mechanism, centring coordination, knowledge sharing and action. The model embeds care work, Indigenous knowledge and informal labour into national climate policies.

3.Strengthen global accountability on gender and climate

Take a lead role in convening an evaluation of the COP28 Gender-Responsive Just Transitions & Climate Action Partnership and support a dialogue on how signatory countries are implementing their obligations. The 80 signatory countries, including Australia, are due to report on implementation of their commitments at COP31.

4.Set clear gender targets

Lead a process to embed clear and specific targets under the Belém Gender Action Plan and commit to a broad, consultative process to gather data and material to inform the National Assessment for the Gender Action Plan, due in 2027.

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