Social protection was placed at the heart of the declaration presented at the Conference Of Parties 30 (COP30) leaders' summit on 7 November. The declaration, which was signed in Belem, Brazil by 43 countries and the European Union, includes a number of implementable goals and calls on international organizations, including the ILO, to help track progress towards them. They include, among others:
- Supporting climate-vulnerable developing countries in expanding social protection coverage including those that aim to do so by two percentage points per year.
- Adapting social protection systems to the impacts of climate change.
- Mobilizing more climate finance for strengthening social protection systems.
- Increasing the number of countries that integrate social protection and just transition in their climate strategies, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), national climate strategies, and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
The ILO promotes universal social protection in support of the Belém declaration
At a Solutions Workshop held on 11 November in support of the Belém Declaration organized by Brazil's Ministry of Social Development, Vinicius Pinheiro, ILO's Country Director in Brazil affirmed:
The ILO is fully committed to advancing the declaration's goals and to supporting the monitoring of its commitments. The ILO has played a key role in advocating for a target to expand coverage in developing countries by at least two percentage points per year and we are very pleased to see this commitment being carried forward in the Belém Declaration.
The ILO already publishes regular data on social protection coverage, including in countries most vulnerable to climate change, as well as on the integration of social protection in climate strategies such as NDCs.
Together with its partners from FAO, UNICEF and UNRISD, the ILO also organised an official side event on 12 November to explore in depth the role of social protection in advancing climate resilience and a just transition. The event was moderated by Kumi Naidoo, President of the Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty, former Secretary General of Amnesty International and Greenpeace International, and provided a space to hear the lived experiences and perspectives of key constituencies, including workers, employers, young people and women, among others.
From left to right Flore Ghetti (YOUNGO), gina cortés valderrama (Women and Gender Constituency Co-facilitator), Kumi Naidoo (Human rights and climate justice activist, President of the Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty), María Noel Estrada, Senior Programme Manager at UNRISD), Mansi Shah (Self-Employed Women's Association India), João Pedro Dias (Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Belém, Brazil, 12 November 2025 © ILO.
For poor workers in the informal economy, climate change is a daily, living crisis. […] We strongly believe that trade unions and workers organizations can help amplify workers' voices in policy spaces, ensuring that social protection against climate shocks is an everyday right-not a privilege.
Explained Mansi Shah from India's Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA).
Government representatives from Cambodia, the Gambia and Brazil shared reflections about progress in extending and adapting social protection in the context of climate change.
Advancing just transition through the Global Accelerator
These messages and commitments were further reinforced by a side event held on 15 November at the French pavilion, where the ILO, Agence française de Développement (AFD), and national representatives from South Africa, Mexico as well as Caritas Brazil highlighted that delivering climate ambition requires prioritizing social and economic development alongside ambitious decarbonization policies.
AFD, as co-lead of the Finance in Common Summit (FICS) Coalition for social investment, is one of the pioneering public development banks that promotes social investment as necessary element of a just transition.
Social justice is no longer an option for us; it is a prerequisite for the success of the projects we support. In our new "Planet" roadmap for 2025-2030, we reconcile climate, nature, and development by systematically integrating social and inequality issues.
Explained Audrey Rojkoff, AFD's Climate and Nature Director.
This resonates well with ILO's approach of decent work creation and universal social protection as enablers for climate action.
A just transition for all, decent work creation and social protection are not only co-benefits - they are the enablers of ambition both for mitigation and adaptation. As such, the objectives of a just transition and social justice must be at the beginning, not the end of the process.
Said Moustapha Kamal Gueye, Director, Action Programme on Just Transition, ILO.
Social protection promoted in decisions adopted on adaptation and just transition
The growing momentum around the importance of social protection for climate resilience and a just transition was also reflected in adopted decisions across several of the key negotiation streams. The Belém Adaptation Indicators, which will help the world track its collective progress towards achieving the Global Goal on Adaptation set out in the Paris Agreement, include two indicators on social protection. Parties also decide to develop a just transition mechanism to translate discussions on just transition - including those related to social protection - into action on the ground.
The ILO's social protection and just transition specialists supported parties in their deliberations, both in their role as observers as well as subject matter experts.
