The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), together with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Energy (DOE), is putting in place a coordinated approach to help ensure that the country’s shift to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy protects workers, supports communities, and creates new opportunities.
DENR Secretary Juan Miguel “Mitch” T. Cuna, DOLE Secretary Francis N. Tolentino, and DOE Secretary Sharon S. Garin signed Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2026-01 on September 15, 2026, adopting the Philippine Just Transition Framework (PJTF).
The JAO provides a common framework for the three agencies to align their policies, programs, and investments as the country moves toward cleaner and more climate-resilient development, while addressing the possible impacts of the transition on workers, enterprises, industries, and communities.
President Marcos has said that addressing climate change is now part of the country’s national policies and development planning, with climate action also opening opportunities for jobs, livelihoods, and growth in the green and blue economies.
Under the framework, the DENR will integrate just-transition principles into environmental and natural resource management, including the assessment of environmental and social risks and monitoring of outcomes in the natural resources sector.
The DOLE will address labor-related concerns through workforce planning, skills development, green jobs, occupational safety and health, labor standards, employment facilitation, and social protection. The DOE, meanwhile, will integrate just-transition considerations into energy policies, programs, and investments and assess their impacts on workers, enterprises, and communities.
DENR Secretary Cuna said that, “As we move toward a low carbon and climate resilient future, this Framework is both a guide and a call to leadership. It challenges every sector to pursue development pathways that uphold environmental stewardship, advance social equity, create decent and sustainable livelihoods, and ensure that no Filipino is left behind.”
The JAO establishes a Just Transition Steering Committee to provide policy direction and oversight, and a Just Transition Technical Working Group to lead technical and implementation activities. The DENR will serve as the interim secretariat for both bodies.
The Technical Working Group will prepare a National Just Transition Implementation Plan within 30 months from the JAO’s effectivity. The plan will identify priority sectors, financing stakeholder engagement and monitoring.
The framework also provides for the participation of workers, employers, labor unions, civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, local communities, and the private sector through a Multipartite Advisory Group.
Through the JAO, the three agencies are working to ensure that environmental protection and climate action go hand in hand with opportunities for workers and communities as the Philippines transitions toward a cleaner, more resilient economy. On a related development, the completed framework has been submitted to the Climate Change Commission for issuance of a Resolution adopting the same.
Reference: Mersha DENR
