ILO in Asia-Pacific joins forces with IGES on research, training, advocacy and policy support for green jobs

BANGKOK (ILO News): The International Labour Organization’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation in the field of research on green jobs, advocacy and policy support.

The MOU will cover three principal areas of cooperation. Research on the employment impact of low-carbon and environment-related policies and the mapping of green jobs in the labour market across all economic sectors will form the basis for better understanding the transition to green jobs across the region. Joint training activities, advocacy and policy support targeting governments, employers’ organizations and trade unions will raise awareness and capacity of constituents to implement the required adaptations. The MOU will also allow for regular exchange of information between the two organizations.

The respective strengths of the two organisations are seen as complementary: ILO is a development and policy support institution on employment and social issues, while IGES generates strategic research on environment and development. Both organizations support capacity building in the region based on an understanding of best available practices.

“This partnership of cooperation in research, advocacy and capacity building will help both organizations ensure the implementation of green jobs moves to the next level,” said Ms Thetis Mangahas, Officer-in-Charge of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. “It also assists the ILO in meeting its commitments on prioritizing green jobs, a direction re-affirmed to us by our constituents at the 15th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting in Kyoto, Japan last December.”

Under this MOU, ILO and IGES will develop more effective cooperation based on joint research with national governments and social partners at the national and regional level on the employment impacts of low-carbon and other environment related policies, joint training and advocacy activities and regular exchange of information at the institutional level.

The MOU was signed at the ILO’s Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific in parallel with meetings of three working groups of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held from 30th August to 5th September at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.

The signing took place a few days after the conclusion of an important regional conference on green jobs (29th to 31st August) in Surabaya, Indonesia. During that meeting, representatives from governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations called for intensified efforts on the move to green jobs, Delegates called for further research on the linkages between employment, environment and the economy. Participants also requested the ILO to develop new types of collaborations and partnerships with environment–focused organizations in the field of research, policy making and implementation.

For further information please contact:

Mr Vincent Jugault, Senior Specialist in Environment and Decent Work
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok
Tel. 02 288 2304
Email

Mr Allan Dow, Advocacy and Communications Officer
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok)
Tel. 02 288 2057
Email