Green jobs

Green jobs are decent jobs which help protect the environment, ensure a shift to a low carbon development and adapt to the effects of climate change. This includes jobs that reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors, ultimately to levels that are sustainable; protect ecosystems and biodiversity or combat desertification; reduce the use of energy, raw materials, and natural resources, including water, through high-efficiency strategies, techniques and technologies; and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and pollution. The concept of Green Jobs is inclusive of the two dimensions of environmental sustainability and decent work. For a job to be considered green, it needs to be decent.

The Green Jobs Initiative in Asia and the Pacific

The Green Jobs Initiative is a global partnership between the ILO, the UNEP, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE). The initiative was launched to promote opportunity, equity, and a just transition process and to encourage governments, employers, and workers to collaborate on coherent policies and effective programs that will support a green economy, with green jobs and decent work for all. Some of the activities of the Green Jobs Initiative in Asia and the Pacific include:

• Deepen research in low/medium-income countries in the region, in particular assess the labor market impact of climate change and environment driven policies;
• Facilitate the development of employment-centered environmentally sustainable policies in the context of the recovery from the economic and social crisis;
• Enhance the capacity of the social partners