Global South-South Development Forum 2012

This year’s Global South-South Development Expo in Vienna (Austria) puts the spotlight on Energy and Climate Change. The ILO Solution Forum on Energy, Climate Change and Decent Work (20 November) covered inclusive access to decent work, follow-up to Rio+20, green jobs, social protection and the promotion of workers’ rights in the field of renewable energy and climate change.

Type:	Event
When:	19 - 23 November 2012
Where:	Vienna

ILO Solution Forum

The ILO Solution Forum, held on 20 November, was moderated by Mr. Peter Poschen, Director of the ILO Job Creation and Enterprise Development Department and Coordinator of the ILO Global Green Jobs Programme.

Solution presenters for the ILO panel were the following (click on name to read statement):

The Honourable Mr. Errol McLeod, Minister of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development, Trinidad and Tobago
Dr. Christo Marais, Chief, Directorate, National Resource Management, Department of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa
H.E. Ambassador Laercio Antonio Vinhas, Brazilian Mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the CTBTO in Vienna
Mr. Brian Kohler, Director, Health, Safety and Sustainability – IndustriALL Global Union
Mr. Jürgen Schwettmann, Director, Partnerships and Development Cooperation Department of the ILO.

Building on their extensive experience and successful projects, presenters demonstrated the benefits of SSTC in sharing and implementing sustainable and scalable solutions.
The major topics discussed covered inclusive access to decent work, follow up to Rio+20, green jobs, social protection and the promotion of workers’ rights in the field of renewable energy and climate change. The presentations emphasized strategies to effectively link the three pillars of sustainable development recognised in the aftermath of Rio+20; namely, the economic, social and environmental.

The solutions showcased during the Forum highlighted the partnerships between countries of the Global South in terms of transfers of expertise and technology, and exchanges of information that can be utilized through South-South cooperation and bring about positively and profound changes in peoples’ lives.