Project Advisory Committee of Green Jobs in Asia

Background

Many countries in Asian and the Pacific have voluntarily committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 or carbon intensity per unit of GDP. In this regard, engaging the Asian economy into an environmentally sustainable and low carbon development path will bring profound and lasting adjustments to the socio-economic structures of countries in the region. The transformation into a sustainable and low-carbon development will therefore trigger shifts in the labour markets and create demand for new skills and re-skilling programs, and social protection and financial schemes in particular for the most exposed workers and businesses.

The effects of climate change and the resulting policies on the world of work are not always fully understood and, in some cases, considered a drain on the economy and competitiveness. Whereas in fact, most recent studies show that climate-smart policies can bring environmental, economic and social benefits together.

The changes in production and consumption patterns that are called for in the drive towards a climate friendly economy require incorporating the social, gender and employment dimensions into decision making. The labour authorities and the social partners (ILO constituents) involvement in the development of inclusive and coherent climate policies are required. However, commitment at the highest political level will be required to ensure that environmental policy debates can address the gender and social dimension more prominently and that job recovery policies can take a more environmentally sustainable path.

The immediate objectives of this project are:

• Promote the capacity of ILO constituents to engage in dialogue on green jobs through increased access to reliable sources of data and information on green jobs and training, including on the employment impacts of environment-related policies and good practices on green jobs;
• Green jobs mainstreamed in national labour and social policy of participating countries; and
• Green Jobs demonstration programs which respond to the different needs of women and men, implemented in sectors selected based on the request from ILO constituents.

The project is funded by the Australian Government through AusAID. The ILO constituents will be a key project target group with a view to creating the long-term capacity and the conditions of social dialogue to mainstream green jobs into social and employment policy, integrate Green Jobs policies into the Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCP), contribute actively to climate and environment related policies at the national level, and facilitate a just transition for enterprises and workers towards a low-carbon, environmentally friendly economy.

Some of the planned activities to be conducted by this project are:

• Develop an integrated set of country and sector-based studies, including a country study on environment-employment linkages and assessment of the potential for green jobs creation and decent work.
• Develop a set of tools to review challenges and opportunities for green jobs.
• Develop training courses for constituents and national partners for the creation of green jobs and the greening of economies, enterprises and employment on a larger scale.
• Technical cooperation program in key economic sectors for the creation of green job employment opportunities.

The project is proposed to be guided by a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) which will have representation from the tripartite constituents and other relevant partners. All strategic and policy management decisions will be consulted and agreed upon.