JUST TRANSITION, DECENT WORK, AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE Just Transition, Decent Work, and Climate Resilience | 1 DECENT WORK AND CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE The Asia-Pacific region has learned to policies in prevention, mitigation For representatives meeting to be resilient in the face of increasing and adaptation to the impacts of discuss sustainable development natural disasters and changing climate. climate change. This process of change and climate change during the 23rd New challenges in transitioning to at work will require the combined session of the Conference of the a low-carbon economy to make our efforts of governments, employers and Parties, this brochure explains the communities healthy, safer and even workers through social dialogue. commitment of the International more resilient can bring opportunities Labour Organization (ILO) for greening Policy coherence for a just transition for the future of work. Making this jobs and skills in Asia and the Pacific and convergence of all actions are transition rich in green and decent with decent jobs. Through partnership vital. More efforts are needed to improve jobs is directly connected to the well- with ILO member States in Asia and policy coherence of government at being of people and communities and the Pacific, we have made a long all levels, business leaders, workers, to the sustainability of our livelihoods journey since our founding in 1919, financial institutions, research and societies. This new dynamic makes fostering decent work and job-rich institutions and local communities. The a strong argument for thinking of development. Today, we are facing alignment of employment, education, processes as enabling the greening of new and complex challenges from environment, energy and climate economies and production rather than the effects of climate change. The finance policies can accelerate climate as a dichotomy between unsustainable situation requires bold efforts – our action and speed up a just transition to dirty jobs to be discontinued and efforts – to provide solutions that are more sustainable societies. As we focus sustainable clean jobs to be created. transformative. It also needs strong on achieving this high ambition in the leadership from our member States. We must learn to recognize these region, we must also turn our efforts opportunities and design strategic and attention to creating jobs that We stand ready to continue the journey policies and interventions, driven are decent, jobs that have quality and to deliver solutions for a just transition by respect for the environment and the jobs that develop our human capital to societies with green and decent Decent Work Agenda. There is an with the skills for today’s needs and jobs for all. urgent need for green employment tomorrow’s employability. Tomoko Nishimoto ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific 2 | Just Transition, Decent Work, and Climate Resilience 01 WHAT ARE GREEN JOBS? Green jobs1 contribute towards the preservation and restoration of the environment, be they in traditional sectors, such as manufacturing and construction, or in new, emerging green sectors, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. Green and Decent At the enterprise level, green jobs can produce goods and provide services that benefit the environment, such as green buildings or clean transportation. These green outputs (products Improve energy and raw and services), however, are not always based on material efficiency green production processes and technologies. Green jobs are also distinguished by their contribution to environment-friendly processes. Support GREEN Limit For example, green jobs can reduce water adaptation to the greenhouse gas consumption or improve recycling systems. effects of climate JOBS emissions change. Green jobs defined through production processes HELP TO: do not necessarily produce environmental goods or services. Protect and restore Minimize waste Jobs that are green are central to sustainable ecosystems and pollution development and resource productivity. They respond to the global challenges of environmental protection, economic development and social inclusion. Such jobs create decent employment opportunities, enhance resource efficiency and build a low- carbon sustainable society. 1 See http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/green-jobs/; ILO, 2015. Just Transition, Decent Work, and Climate Resilience | 3 Green jobs must be quality decent jobs and in line with the Four strategic objectives at the heart of the Decent Work agenda Set and promote standards and fundamental principles and rights at work Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue Achieving environmental sustainability in Asia and the Pacific is unlikely without major societal changes and economic risks. Mitigating and adapting to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions while confronting other environmental challenges, such as resource management, is only the start. Large segments of the workforce will need to depend on environment-sensitive industries and sectors for creating environmental sustainability and decent work. Energy, agriculture, forestry and fishing are all key sectors for creating environmental sustainability and decent work. 4 | Just Transition, Decent Work, and Climate Resilience 02 A REGION AT THE CROSSROADS OF BETTER JOBS AND CLIMATE CHANGE The Asia-Pacific region accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the global workforce, equivalent to more than 2 billion people.2 However, 10 per cent of the workforce, or 182 million workers employed in the region, lives on income that is below the extreme poverty threshold of US$1.90 per person per day, with a further 18 per cent (318 million people) on the margins of poverty (figure 1A).3 More than half of the workers in this region are classified as in vulnerable employment – as own-account workers or unpaid family workers – and without access to social protection. FIGURE 1. Working poverty rates (%) and displacement from climate events, 2016 Panel A Panel B 80 350 Displaced persons (million) 70 300 60 250 50 200 (%) 40 30 150 20 100 10 Individual events* 50 0 0 EasternAsia Asia EasternAsia Asia Southeast Southern Southeast Southern Asia-Pacific Asia Pacificand Asia-Pacific Asia Pacificand Extreme Extreme and Vulnerable working moderate working employment Events Displaced persons poverty rate poverty rate rate Source: Panel A: ILO, 2017d; Panel B: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC): Internal displacement database (2016), https://bluehub.jrc. ec.europa.eu/ (accessed 13 Oct. 2017). *Note: climate events refer to cyclones, tropical storms, floods and other extreme weather events. 2 ILO, 2017d. 3 Ibid. Just Transition, Decent Work, and Climate Resilience | 5 Natural disasters and displaced people Under current climate change trends and even in the According to the 2016 World Risk Report,5 12 Asian- most optimistic scenarios, the frequency and intensity Pacific countries are among the top 20 countries of natural hazards will increase. This includes rapid globally with very high exposure and vulnerability to onset events (such as typhoons) and slow onset events natural disasters and environmental damage and limited (such as unhealthy levels of air temperature, changes institutional capacity to respond. Some 300 million to in precipitation patterns and sea-level rise). When 410 million urban dwellers and 341 million inland natural disasters or other exogenous shocks occur, it residents will be at risk of coastal flooding by 2025;6 is the vulnerable workers and people living in poverty most of them will likely live in Asia and the Pacific. with limited savings and no social safety net who bear Small island States are likely to be disproportionally the brunt of the devastation. According to the Internal affected. Displacement Monitoring Centre, the region accounted Although only 8 per cent of the total land area in the for around half of all recorded cases of geophysical shocks region is lower than 5 meters above sea level, 10 per or natural hazards in 2016. As a result, 82 per cent of cent of the region’s total population lives in this area. all natural hazard-induced displaced persons worldwide With natural disasters and the value of resulting damage in 2016, or more than 250 million people, lived in Asia increasing since the 1940s (figure 3), developing or the Pacific (figure 1B).4 Figure 2 highlights the ten preventive measures to limit infrastructure and countries with the most new displacements of people property damage and increasing institutional capacity, by the sudden onset of natural disasters in 2016. particularly for small businesses, to respond to climate FIGURE 2. Countries with the most new events will be a source of decent jobs creation while displacements by disasters, 2016 building resilience. Absolute numbers FIGURE 3. Trends in natural disasters and damage 8 in the Asia-Pacifc region, 1940s–2010s 7 1400 400 6 1200 350 5 300 1000 4 250 Million 800 3 200 600 150 2 Billion (US$) 400 1 100 Natural events (number) 7,434,000 5,930,000 2,400,000 1,246,000 1,107,000 1,079,000 864,000 614,000 509.000 500,000 200 50 0 0 0 China India Cuba Japan Indonesia MyanmarSri Lanka Philippines Bangladesh 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s United States Note: Disasters triggered by sudden-onset hydro-meteorological and Number of natural events Damage (Billion US$) climatological hazards include