Green Employment Diagnostics for a Just Transition

The Guidelines provide a comprehensive and practical framework to help countries understand how climate change and environmental transitions are reshaping economies, labour markets and livelihoods - and how these effects can be managed through coherent employment and social policies.

At the heart of the publication is a conceptual framework that examines how climate change and environmental dynamics shape development outcomes across three core domains: (i) the economy, (ii) the labour market, and (iii) poverty and inequality. Climate change acts as a cross-cutting driver influencing each of these domains.

The analysis is structured around three complementary lenses applied consistently across all domains: physical impacts of climate change (including extreme weather events and slow-onset processes), transition risks arising from policy, regulatory and market responses to climate change, and transition opportunities linked to the emergence of green activities, technologies and skills. Together, these lenses help identify areas of vulnerability as well as pathways for inclusive and job-rich green transitions.

Building on this conceptual base, the Guidelines introduce a structured three-step approach. Step I focuses on country profiling, using accessible data to map the employment–climate–environment nexus. Step II provides tools for in-depth analysis of economic, labour-market and distributional implications, with strong emphasis on sectoral analysis. Step III guides users in translating diagnostic findings into concrete, prioritized policy options.

The updated edition reflects lessons from country applications, notably in Morocco. It introduces methodological innovations such as task-based approaches to measure the “greenness” of occupations and identify skills transition needs; improved sector-selection methods based on economic significance, climate risk exposure and green transition potential; stronger treatment of informality in green employment; and the use of geospatial analysis to identify regional hotspots and tailor local responses. Throughout, the publication provides practical tools—checklists, templates, matrices and guiding questions—designed for policymakers, ILO constituents and practitioners.