Green jobs in the South Pacific: A preliminary study

This report has been prepared in the context of the Green Jobs Initiative, an initiative launched in 2007 by the ILO in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE). Through concerted effort by governments, employers and trade unions, the Green Jobs Initiative aims to promote research and awareness, enhance the capacity of ILO constituents,develop policies and measures to achieve green jobs and green workplaces and facilitate a “just transition” that reflects the environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainable development.

The purpose of this report is to assess the challenges and opportunities that are associated with the expansion of specific economic sub-sectors, which are under stress from climate change in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu, with particular emphasis on the first two countries. In the process, the aim is to review the potential for the preservation of existing jobs and the creation of new decent jobs, in particular amongst young populations, as well as assess the decent work environment and challenges. The specific approach taken to achieve the objectives of this study were: (a) a detailed and thorough desk research, and (b) a wide country consultation process, involving key government ministries, NGOs, the private sector, and trade union bodies, on two Pacific Island countries—Fiji and the Solomon Islands—on which the case study on the ILO decent work agenda is based upon.