15th Asia and Pacific Regional Meeting – Special session on “Sustaining the Future with Green Jobs”

This panel shares information on the opportunities and challenges created by the shift to sustainable patterns of growth. It looks at ways that 'climate smart' policies can create jobs while ensuring the just transition necessary to allow workers and employers to adapt to new roles and responsibilities.

Programme and participants

Introduction by the Moderator: Dr Ashok Khosla, President IUCN

Panel:

  • Ms Amita Sharma, Principal Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Mr Kunio Senga, Director-General, Southeast Asia Department, ADB
  • Mr Najib Saab, Secretary General, AFED (Lebanon)

Background

The labour market can and will be affected by environmentally-sustainable policies, so the shift to a low-carbon, environmentally-friendly development path presents a number of challenges and opportunities relating to job creation and the retention of existing livelihoods. Green jobs must contribute to the decent work agenda (Green Jobs = Decent Work).

This panel shares information on the opportunities and challenges created by the shift to sustainable patterns of growth. It looks at ways that 'climate smart' policies can create jobs while ensuring the just transition necessary to allow workers and employers to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. Many green jobs could potentially be located in environmentally-based sectors that currently have significant decent work deficits (for example, recycling, forestry and agriculture), but to be successful, green job policies must give equal weight to social, employment and environmental issues.

The discussions examines how green jobs' policies can support workplace rights and social dialogue, and consider the potential for combining good employment, social and environmental outcomes that also benefit the poor and vulnerable.