An agreement to promote decent work and a ‘just transition’ of the workforce towards sustainable economies and societies for all has been signed by the UN’s labour and climate change organisations.
The move follows the adoption and entry-into-force of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate agreement that aims to deliver a climate stable future for every man, woman and child.
“Our members, namely governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations, are key to efforts that will allow a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent jobs in the context of global action on climate change. This Memorandum of Understanding will therefore help give practical effect to the Just Transition Guidelines of the ILO as a framework to support action on climate change,” said International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director-General, Guy Ryder.
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said: “We are delighted to forge an ever deeper relationship with the ILO. Implementing the Paris Agreement and realising the Sustainable Development Goals has the potential to generate more and new kinds of better quality jobs across the globe. We intend to maximise the opportunities from our mutually-shared agendas.”
The partnership promotes the integration of decent work and a just transition in the implementation of national measures on climate change.
Among other areas of collaboration, the ILO and UNFCCC will conduct studies at global and national levels to measure the impact of climate change and the transition on employment in different sectors.
These assessments will inform and guide countries on the responses that are needed in areas such as employment, social protection, occupational safety and health, industrial restructuring, skills needs identification and skills development, in their national contexts.
Other activities mentioned in the MoU include the review of national and regional experiences, the strengthening of social dialogue between governments and the social partners at all levels, and capacity building programmes on climate change and decent work for developing countries.
