ILO Green Week and Earth Day 2021

Africa regional launch of the Climate Action for Jobs Initiative and “the social dimension of the ecological transition” project

In the context of the ILO’s Green Week and this year’s Earth Day, the ILO and its tripartite constituents will host a regional launch of the Climate Action for Jobs Initiative. The event will also launch the social dimension of the ecological transition project on advancing climate action, a just transition, and decent work in Africa.


The regional launch will provide a platform for ILO constituents, national experts, development partners and international institutions to share perspectives on how to accelerate climate action with decent work and a just transition for all. The event will also be an opportunity to:
  • Present what the Climate Action for Jobs Initiative can bring through country-level interventions in Africa, addressing the social dimension of the ecological transition;
  • Engage with tripartite constituents on their just transition contexts, needs and priorities; and
  • Discuss with partners how to further mobilize support for the implementation of the initiative and achieve synergies with other similar programmes.

Speakers

The event will be moderator by Ms. Nozipho Tshabalala.
The full list of speakers will be uploaded shortly.

Agenda*

  • 10:00 – 10:30 ~ Opening remarks
  • 10:30 – 11:10 ~ Session 1: Moderated discussion on the needs and priorities in meeting the countries’ just transition commitments
  • 11:10 – 11:50 ~ Session 2: Panel discussion on how to actualise the just transition opportunities for Africa
  • 11:50 – 12:00 ~ Concluding remarks
* Universal Time/GMT

Link to webinar registration.

Background

The ILO and its Tripartite Constituents are committed to ensure that a just transition to a sustainable future takes place and addresses the imperatives of decent work in line with the Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all.

At the 2019 Climate Action Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, 46 countries – including nine countries in Africa – committed to support a just ecological transition through the formulation of just transition policies alongside a scaling up of their climate action.

To turn this agenda into concrete action, the UN Secretary-General and the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), with leaders from governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, launched a Climate Action for Jobs (CA4J) Initiative. The ILO has been tasked to spearhead the Initiative.

The CA4J initiative offers support to countries to meet their just transition commitments in all key policy areas and facilitate an inclusive and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. At the global level, the Initiative also provides a global innovation hub on just transition, a mechanism for pooling funding for country-level technical assistance and a facility for advocacy and outreach.

Within this framework, the project the 'Social Dimension of Ecological Transition’ funded by France aims to support the analysis of the impact of climate change on employment and income as well as the development of measures and policies to promote job creation and social inclusion while mitigating economic and social risks in the context of climate change. The project will take place in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Senegal and involve knowledge-sharing activities in Algeria, Ghana, Morocco and Niger.