The ILO Constituents in Ghana Call for Mainstreaming of the principle of “a Just Transition towards Environmental Sustainability…” into schools’ curriculum

The effects of climate change call for implementation of measures that would mitigate its impact on societies. In an effort to achieve the “Just Transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all”, the ILO Country office Abuja gave technical and financial support to the government of Ghana to organize a National Dialogue in Accra.

Press release | 24 January 2018



ACCRA (ILO News): The ILO tripartite partners and other stakeholders in Ghana have called on the Government of Ghana to mainstream the principle of “a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all” into schools’ curriculum. They also recommended the scoping and rigorous impact evaluation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) on jobs and labour market; and skills upgrading to reflect the needs of the transition to a green economy.
 

The recommendations were made at the “Ghana National Dialogue on Decent Work and Just Transition Agenda to an Environmentally Sustainable Economy and Society for all.” The meeting organized through the financial and technical support of the ILO, by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), had in attendance Government Agencies, Trade Unions, Ghana Employers’ Association, Academia, Development Partners and Civil Society Organizations. 

The workshop had as its theme “The Roles of Tripartite Constituents in Sustainable Development”. The purpose of the workshop was to provide a platform for actors to discuss possible options for synchronizing climate change and decent job creation policies within the context of the “Just Transition”. 

The syndicate session of the workshop deliberated on three major areas of the economy of Ghana which are Energy and Mining, Cocoa and Forestry, Transportation and Waste Management sectors.The following issues emerged during the technical discussions:

·         The impacts of climate change and the response measures on jobs and work are inevitable;

·           The Complexities in adjusting to the “Just Transition” concept in the labour market;

·          Green Job skills, training and education programmes are inadequate or non-existing to enable the labour force take advantage of the opportunities;

·          Workers in the informal economy and energy are the most vulnerable who deserve serious consideration in the “Just Transition Agenda”;

·         There is inadequate collaboration between Government Agencies in the implementation of the components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

·         The impact of the NDC’s had not been fully and rigorously evaluated on existing and future jobs

·          The need for alternative measures to control the adverse effects of the structural changes required for ‘Just Transition’ to be successful in Ghana. 

It should be recalled that at its 102nd Session (2013), the International Labour Conference adopted a resolution and a set of conclusions concerning sustainable development, decent work and green jobs putting forward a policy framework for a just transition. The tripartite constituents and other stakeholders at the workshop committed to working towards the realization of the resolution to further the achievement of decent work and just transition to an environmentally sustainable economy and society for all in Ghana. The ILO remains committed to supporting its tripartite partners and other stakeholders throughout the process of transitioning to an environmentally sustainable economy and just society for all.