Worried about the rising rate of unemployment? Well, the future holds hope but only if it is green. According to a report ‘World Employment and Social Outlook 2018: Greening with Jobs’ released on Monday by the International Labour Organization(ILO), a green economy can result in creating a staggering 24 Million jobs.
The report highlights that 24 million more jobs will result from achieving the Paris Agreement’s 2 Degrees Celsius goal (to keep temperature rise this century below 2 Degree Celsius) and predicts a loss of 6 million jobs in coal and oil sector. So the net gain of jobs is 18 million.
Moreover, 6 million more jobs will result from embracing ‘circular economy’ which includes recycling, reusing, repairing, remanufacturing and moving away from the extract-produce-use-discard economy. Apart from that 1.2 billion jobs depend on a stable and healthy environment in industries like agriculture, fisheries, forestry, pharmaceuticals.
The employment share varies according to the region. The study suggests that Asia, Africa and the Pacific will have the highest shares, at 58% and 49%, respectively. The agriculture industry is responsible for generating 80% of the jobs while the textile and apparel industry can create up to 9% of the jobs. The Asia and the Pacific is set for a net gain of 14 million jobs whereas the Americas and Europe can gain 3 million and 2 million jobs respectively.
“The findings of our report underline that jobs rely heavily on a healthy environment and the services that it provides,” says Deborah Greenfield, ILO deputy director-general. “The green economy can enable millions of more people to overcome poverty and deliver improved livelihoods for this and future generations. This is a very positive message of opportunity in a world of complex choices.”
The authors of the report suggest the countries should start training workers in the skill required for the green economy transition urgently.
“Policy changes in these regions could offset the anticipated job losses or their negative impact,” says Catherine Saget, the lead author. “Low-and some middle- income countries still need support to develop data collection, and adopt and finance strategies towards a just transition to an environmentally stable economy and society that includes everyone from all groups of society.”
The report emphasized the importance of skill development needed for the green economy transition. The skills that currently in use are not apt for a green economy and the faster we change that, the faster we ensure a green future.