Green Jobs: A Double Dividend?

Shaza Ghaleb Al Jondi (ILO RO-Beirut)

UNDP Arab Climate Resilience Initiative

Bahrain, 6-7 October 2010

Outline

• Why green jobs and what are they?• Are green jobs real or a myth?• Opportunities for green jobs • Examples• Regional perspective • Key recommendations

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The dual challengeTwo defining challenges of the 21st century:

1. Environment: Averting dangerous climate change and Protecting the natural environment that supports

life on earth2. Social challenge:

Decent work for all, Well-being and dignity for the excluded

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2nd Great transformation

‘Green growth’, ‘clean development’• Pollution control• Fewer resources/output (eco-efficient)• No pollution and degradation (eco-effective)• Sustainable economies

Profound impact on enterprises and workers= Social effectiveness and sustainability?

Making MDG1 (poverty reduction) and MDG 7 (environmentally sustainable) mutually supportive rather than conflicting

Green Jobs Initiative-The Green Jobs Initiative is a joint initiative launched in November 2007 by

UNEP, ILO, IOE and ITUC

The partners:

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“ Green Jobs are (decent) work created in economic sectors and activities, which reduces their environmental impact and adapts to climate change, ultimately leading to environmentally and socially sustainable enterprises and economies”.

– AimsReduce consumption of energy and raw materials

(dematerialize economies)– Avoid greenhouse gas emissions (decarbonize

economies )– Minimize waste and pollution– Protect and restore ecosystems– Adapt to climate change

Defining Green Jobs

Towards a green economy: four implications for employment

• First, in some cases, additional jobs will be created—as in the manufacturing of pollution-control devices added to existing production equipment.

• Second, some employment will be substituted—as in shifting from fossil fuels to renewables, or from landfilling and waste incineration to recycling.

• Third, certain jobs may be eliminated without direct replacement—as when packaging materials are discouraged or banned and their production is discontinued.

• Fourth, it would appear that many existing jobs (especially such as plumbers, electricians, metal workers, and construction workers) will simply be transformed and redefined as day-to-day skill sets, work methods, and profiles are greened.

Green and Decent Jobs? A schematic Overview

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Shades of greenTransport ‘light green’

• Significantly below average environmental impact

• Evolving• Eventually most

jobs greener

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Transport ‘a darker shade of green’

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Transport ‘dark green’

Greening across economy + High potential sectors

Energy efficiency: buildings, industry, transport

Renewable energy Mobility: mass transportation Recycling, waste management Sustainable agriculture and forestry Environmental services

Green Jobs in the Energy Sector: Now and in the Future

i. Renewable energy: 2.3 million jobs created (2006) 2030 estimates: more than 20 m jobs

ii. Energy efficiency: Around 4 million direct green jobs based on improving energy efficiently exist across the economy in

the US and certain European countries.

• German Alliance for Work and the Environment (retrofitting apartments): created 25,000 jobs in 4 years and saved 116,000 existing ones (342,000 apartments)

• Greening the building industry in the European Union and the United States would create at least 2 million jobs (3.5 million jobs using the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) goal of a 75 percent reduction of carbon emissions by 2030).

iii. Transportation: Fuel -efficient cars vs. public transport systems: • Fuel-efficient cars: 250,000 green jobs• 5 million jobs in the railways in India, China, and the EU alone

Estimated Employment in the Renewable Energy Sector, Selected Countries and World, 2006

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Renewable energy 2006 and 2030

Job Projections from Energy-Efficiency Measures in the Building Sector

Brazil : Social housing, sustainable construction

‘My house-my life’ social housing program (5/2009)

• 500,000 units energy savings measures (solar water heaters)

• - 40% electricity bill• - 18% peak demand• + 18,000 jobsSustainable construction

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Rural Energy: Photovoltaic in Bangladesh (Grameen Shakti)

Target: Installation of 1million systems and the creation of 100,000 jobs in renewable energy and related businesses by 2015

Shortcoming and impediments for green jobs

• The creation of green jobs is advancing too slowly to contribute substantially to the reduction of unemployment and underemployment

• Transition for enterprises and workers who will be adversely affected by the transformation

• Unsustainable business practices are still prevalent and often remain more profitable (particularly in absence of the right policies)

• Skills gaps (broad range)19

Conclusions

Green, decent jobs are real Play a key role in a green economy Leapfrogging opportunity for developing

countries and emerging economies More and better jobs than ‘business as

usual’ Major social benefits

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Conclusions 2

Green jobs can be:• Systemic: e.g. energy efficiency, eco-tax• Targeted: rural, local, poverty, low-skilled• Green jobs creation not automatic:

Policy coherence: economy, energy, industry, environment employment, social development, human

resources

DW And Environmental Challenges in the Arab Region Key Decent Work Challenges

• Unemployment rate: 9.7% (world: 5.9%)

• Lowest employment-to-population ratio: 46% (world: 60.3%)

• Highest youth unemployment rate: 22.1% (world: 12.3%)

• Lowest labor force participation rate: 50.9% compared to 64.1% worldwide (females: 26.4%)

• Less than 30% of the population is covered by pension schemes

• The informal economy represents the greater proportion of the employed and a significant portion of the private sector employment

Environmental Challenges

• One of the regions that will be mostly affected by climate change

- drought

- sea level rise

- impact on agriculture

• Water scarcity (eight of the 10 most water-stressed countries in the world)

• Desertification

• Pollution

• Energy security

Green Jobs: preliminary recommendations for the Arab Region

1. Need to strengthen our knowledge base to be able to inform the decision-making process

– Examples: research/assessment of employment implications of shifting towards a green economy or greening specific sectors (net employment gain/loss, types of jobs)

– Policy, economic, and employment implications of the energy efficient path have to be assessed in an integrated manner.

2. Skills mapping and development - Identifying the skills needed to make the shift and mapping of existing skills - Developing a skills development strategy

3. Need to implement pilot projects in the field of renewable energy and improved energy efficiency while keeping track of the jobs created and drawing on the lessons learnt/success stories (e.g. assessing employment implications of existing projects in the Maghreb region)

4.Need to implement targeted grass-roots programmes with a two-fold objective of job creation (e.g rural employment)and sustainable livelihoods

5.Engage stakehplders in social dialogue

Some examples of ILO’s work on Green Jobs in the Arab Region

• Green construction in Gaza using CEB (compressed earth blocks) and employing local people (in collaboration with UNRWA and other partners)

• Green Jobs Assessment in Lebanon (industry, agriculture, waste management, construction, energy) – a joint initiative with UNDP Lebanon

• Green Jobs Sensitization Workshop in Lebanon to introduce green jobs and present/discuss findings of study (with a possibility of inviting other countries)

• Identification of quick-win pilot green jobs projects in South Lebanon for implementation with seed money (planned)

• Implementation of pilot projects in Syria in the field of renewable energy for rural employment– part of a UN MDGs Scaling up project (planned)

• Initial ideas in other countries (Yemen and Syria); and the UAE (in collaboration with UNDP)

For more information:

• UNEP: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/• ITUC: www.ituc-csi.org/• IOE: www.ioe-emp.org/• ILO: www.ilo.org/greenjobs

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