Green is more: country assessments point to new job potential

Technical experts and policy makers engage at ILO international research conference on green jobs

News | 18 December 2013
Researchers, policy makers and technical experts from the ILO and other international organizations evaluated and discussed, in the context of a 2 day conference, if and how greener economies create more and better jobs.

The discussion were based on the results of national green jobs assessments implemented with technical assistance from the ILO in a range of countries from Asia, Latin America, Africa and the OECD.

Under the theme Assessing Green Jobs for Evidence-Based Policy Making, the 2 day conference held on 9 and 10 December 2013 offered an opportunity to discuss and assess the strengths and shortcomings of different methodological approaches. These approaches include national input-output tables, social accounting matrixes and other economic models.

Apart from raising various methodological and statistical questions, the conference also engaged with policy-makers to discuss opportunities for translating green jobs assessment results into policy recommendations. Emphasized was the need to strengthen the interface between researchers and policy-makers when designing and undertaking such assessments.

Countries currently conducting green jobs assessments were invited to explore ways for stronger peer-to-peer review, in the spirit of South-South Cooperation.
For the ILO, the conference also provided a platform for discussing the broader research agenda in this area. On behalf of the Director General, James Howard highlighted in his concluding remarks the links with latest discussions on green jobs promotion held during the 102nd International Labour Conference.

The outcomes of the conference will be taken up by the GAIN network (Green Jobs Assessment Institutions Network). Initiated in March 2013 in the context of the Inter-Agency workshop Employment and Social Inclusion in a Green Economy, the network aims at developing and enhancing a joint research agenda.