The current pace of environmental changes, technological advancement, and economic discrimination necessitates an operative, effective and holistic implementation of Just Transition. This study delves into the existing gap in moral grounding among current policies and thus proposes a holistic Just Transition framework that synergizes UN's SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, and Pope Francis' Laudato Si' where integral ecology links human dignity, labor vocation, and ecological stewardship. This study posits that Just Transition requires unbiased shift from fossil fuels to sustainable alternatives that genuinely protect workers, communities and creation while coupling policy efficiency with moral complexity. This study finds that while SDG 8 underscore technical economic metrics, its implementation risks the perpetuation of social exclusion and ecological harm. As Laudato Si's ecological conversion reframes labor as relational participation in God's creation, it thus enhances SDG 8's labor rights and social protection with solidarity, common good, and care for the poor. This research cultivates the necessary synergy between SDG 8 targets and integral ecology ethics. through an interdisciplinary textual analysis of the theological hermeneutics of Laudato Si', alongside the review of UN and ILO policy documents. This study therefore recommends practical policy framework, ethical criteria, and a multi-actor paradigm for national and community implementation to harmonize economic feasibility, social equity, and moral integrity. This study is significant in advancing interdisciplinary discourses among international policy, Catholic social teachings, and ecological ethics, providing policymakers values-based tools that foster labor well-being, and informing faith-based curricula on sustainable transitions grounded in human dignity.

Authors:
Louell Baldoza, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines

About the Presenter(s)
Mr. Louell Villanueva Baldoza is currently an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Religion of the University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila, Philippines, and has been serving at the University for nearly two decades.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louell-baldoza-072258135/

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Louell-Baldoza

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