Several challenges and opportunities emerged from the seven workshops. These include:

Improving the availability of disaggregated data offers new ways to monitor key just transition dimensions.

Clean energy programmes and policies can affect groups differently. Indicators tracking their just and inclusive dimensions, therefore, require disaggregated data that allow for intersectional analysis of key socio-economic factors such as gender, age, disability, household tenure, migration status or rural-urban divides. While the availability of disaggregated data remains a fundamental challenge for tracking just transitions across the world, improving it also represents a major opportunity for policymakers to target their interventions and mainstream inclusion in their energy programmes, maximising equity and beneficial outcomes for all parties. Additionally, disaggregated indicators can help reveal distributional effects, highlighting population segments that may benefit from energy transitions as well as those that may bear unintended burdens.

Integrating qualitative indicators with quantitative metrics is key to fully capture lived experiences and understand real impacts in communities.

Key dimensions of just transitions, such as active stakeholder engagement, or women’s sense of empowerment and increased agency, cannot be captured by numbers alone. They often require qualitative data collection approaches, such as perception surveys, interviews or participatory methods. These methods can help reveal, in a nuanced manner, additional points of context about barriers, aspirations, opportunities and the impacts of policies on daily life, including unanticipated consequences. Elevating the role of qualitative evidence with real voices on the ground can also successfully support adjustments and course corrections in the policy implementation process. 

Tracking data at different points in time is important to effectively measure and evaluate just transition outcomes. 

The social impacts of clean energy transitions (e.g. improvements in health or reductions in socio-economic inequalities) can take longer to be observed than technical indicators like CO₂ emissions. Indicators are therefore essential at different time scales, including medium-term indicators that bridge the gap between immediate activities (e.g. workshops held) and long-term indicators (e.g. jobs created). These medium-term indicators can help evaluate early effects and create immediate feedback loops for policymakers to make course corrections and adjust policies as necessary.

Investing in technical capacity building can enhance data collection to track progress.

Many countries experience challenges with statistical systems, that can prevent the collection of complex data on energy systems, and miss interlinkages with other social dimensions. Even in countries with more robust statistical systems, knowledge gaps can be found in their capacity to integrate socio-economic indicators into energy models and scenarios. 

Digitalisation and artificial intelligence unlock new opportunities to track progress

Digital tools and artificial intelligence, with appropriate data protection standards in place, bring new opportunities to overcome some of the time and resourcing challenges robust measurement and monitoring systems often present. For instance, remote sensing, smart meters and mobile surveys can automate data collection and facilitate real-time monitoring. Artificial intelligence tools can also accelerate the integration and analysis of disparate datasets, supporting more nuanced scenario analysis and ways to visualise co-benefits of clean energy transitions. However, these digital tools and data collection methods should be implemented within robust data
governance frameworks that prioritise consumer rights, including informed consent, the rights to move personal data between services, and effective redress mechanisms when data is misused1.

Strengthening coordination across different institutions can accelerate tracking efforts.

Just energy transitions touch on issues that extend beyond traditional energy domains, such as labour, education, Indigenous rights, or social protection. Data on these issues are frequently siloed within individual institutions and agencies. For example, national energy ministries may not have access to household data held by ministries of social affairs, making integration difficult. Discrepancies between datasets from different administrative levels can further complicate data collection. Building centralised databases and strong coordination across implementing partners, government agencies, and regulators, can enhance monitoring efforts on just transition outcomes.

Capturing indicators across geographic scales is important.

Just energy transitions are implemented at the national, regional and local levels. Some sub-national regions will experience greater socio-economic impacts than others. It is therefore essential to ensure data collection across geographic scales and to include local authorities and civil society organisations in processes to measure progress on just energy transitions. Building local tracking capacity is not only important to reflect geographic variation but also to involve local communities in co-developing policy responses that are tailored to their specific needs.

Stakeholder engagement builds trust and ensures the legitimacy of tracked indicators.

Co-developing metrics with key stakeholders (e.g. trade unions, local communities, consumer groups, youth and Indigenous groups) can help build trust, better reflect local priorities and ensure the indicators collected are legitimate. Stakeholder engagement in developing and co-designing indicators can also support better data collection in hard-to-reach groups or territories. It can also provide effective feedback loops that support continuous improvement, particularly when local actors are involved in interpreting data.

Open-access indicator databases and digital platforms strengthen transparency and public accountability.

Freely accessible online dashboards help improve the availability of key information. This transparency allows for independent analysis and can help diverse groups better understand how commitments are implemented. New technologies can also facilitate stakeholder engagement through participatory digital platforms with real-time consultations, crowdsourcing feedback or accessible multi-lingual virtual townhalls. In return, these tools can reinforce the credibility of reporting and foster greater public confidence in the transition process.

Enhancing international frameworks with socio-economic dimensions can support tracking progress on people-centred clean energy transitions.

Several agreed international frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are already tracking key energy related issues, for instance, indicators on energy access and clean cooking. UNFCCC encourages countries to voluntarily integrate just transition indicators into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and other climate strategies. Efforts to track progress on just energy transitions present opportunities to align with these frameworks, thereby avoiding duplication. For example, SDG7 on sustainable energy is one of only six SDGs without a dedicated gender indicator, and efforts are underway to address this gap2. It is important to recognise the opportunities to develop new indicators to capture specific dimensions of just transitions through international knowledge exchange and to enhance existing tracking efforts.

Global leadership and international collaboration on capacity building are critical.

Governments can play a leadership role not only in publicly communicating key dimensions of just and inclusive energy transitions, but also in sharing technical assistance for data collection, modelling and reporting. Peer learning and international collaboration are key enablers for improving data ecosystems, offering countries the chance to learn from one another's experiences, strengthen global comparability and jointly develop solutions tailored to their contexts.