UN Environment Management Group Nexus Dialogue Series
Greening with Jobs: A Just Transition to Sustainability
This Nexus Dialogue aims to contribute to a common understanding of the concept of just transition, establish a global platform to share national and international experiences in the practical application of greening with jobs and just transition in national contexts; and foster support by both public and private stakeholders for social justice in the fight for environmental sustainability.
This dialogue will explore the potential of innovative financial solutions and mechanisms to create scalable and effective ways of channelling both private money and public resources towards just transition. It will also consider the interlinkages of just transition with gender equality, human rights, indigenous people’s rights, migration, innovation, technology, education and poverty. The outcome of the dialogue will be captured in 10 key messages to guide policy advice, future research, partnerships, and advocacy.
It is a one-day public event consisting of a high-level segment and a technical component. It starts with a high-level opening by UN senior officials and Geneva-based Ambassadors, followed by technical sessions among UN agencies and representatives of governments and social partners, research and civil society organizations with sessions on 1) Country experiences; 2) policy dialogue on promoting jobs and protecting people; and 3) dialogue on innovative financing for just transition.
The Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved if the transition to green economies is inclusive, providing opportunities for decent work for all, reducing inequalities and effectively eliminating poverty. A just transition to green jobs requires that we leave no one behind. The global efforts to transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies have profound social and economic repercussions on different groups of people and over time in all countries and at all levels of development. For this reason, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted in 2015 calls for “Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities”.
In November 2015, ILO constituents representing governments, workers and employers’ organizations adopted a set of Guidelines for a just transition to environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all . These Guidelines offer a policy framework and a practical tool to ensure that responses to climate change advance employment creation, social justice and fair transitions for workers, enterprises and communities.
It is a one-day public event consisting of a high-level segment and a technical component. It starts with a high-level opening by UN senior officials and Geneva-based Ambassadors, followed by technical sessions among UN agencies and representatives of governments and social partners, research and civil society organizations with sessions on 1) Country experiences; 2) policy dialogue on promoting jobs and protecting people; and 3) dialogue on innovative financing for just transition.
Background
The Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved if the transition to green economies is inclusive, providing opportunities for decent work for all, reducing inequalities and effectively eliminating poverty. A just transition to green jobs requires that we leave no one behind. The global efforts to transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies have profound social and economic repercussions on different groups of people and over time in all countries and at all levels of development. For this reason, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted in 2015 calls for “Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities”.
In November 2015, ILO constituents representing governments, workers and employers’ organizations adopted a set of Guidelines for a just transition to environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all . These Guidelines offer a policy framework and a practical tool to ensure that responses to climate change advance employment creation, social justice and fair transitions for workers, enterprises and communities.