Just transitions under pressure: from early visions to new proposals and trajectories in the Global South[Des transitions justes sous pression : des premières conceptions aux nouvelles propositions et trajectoires dans les pays des Suds]

The concept of a just transition has gained increasing visibility in international climate governance; yet, it remains shaped by the Global North's institutional and epistemic logics and visions, often reduced to compensating the socio-economic costs of decarbonization. Drawing on proposals, regional scholarship and empirical cases from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, I develop a transregional and multi-scalar reinterpretation of the concept. I identify four overarching challenges – epistemic exclusion, governance asymmetries, financial injustices, and economic rationalities – that constitute objective barriers to marginalised actors' ability to realise these proposals and thus reshape global sustainability frameworks. Current climate policies and practices dynamics limit access to financial and institutional resources, as well as the intellectual and political space where alternative visions of justice, sovereignty, and development can emerge. My contribution advances a conceptual cartography of just transitions that expands the debate beyond its genesis, reframing climate and environmental governance through plural and situated understandings of justice and sustainability.