First Philippine Green Jobs Conference: Promoting green jobs and decent work towards inclusive growth
The Philippine Government together with employers, workers, youth leaders, social entrepreneurs, environment advocates, and the civil society responded to the call of promoting green jobs and providing decent and productive work in the First Philippine Green Jobs Conference.
The Philippine Government together with employers, workers, youth leaders, social entrepreneurs, environment advocates, and the civil society responded to the call of promoting green jobs and providing decent and productive work in the First Philippine Green Jobs Conference.
“The world of work has been tremendously affected positively or negatively as a result of climate change and the unsustainable use of our natural resources. Countries around the world are seeking sustainable energy solutions moving into renewable, low-carbon and energy resource efficiency. In the process, this created and transformed employment opportunities for a more inclusive, greener growth,” said Mr Lawrence Jeff Johnson, Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines.
Led by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the First Philippine Green Jobs Conference provided an opportunity to raise awareness on how climate change affects the world of work. The conference presented best practices on promoting green jobs and discussed potentials of transforming or creating green jobs in the Philippines. The conference further identified policy approaches and innovative measures for creating green jobs and upgrading enterprises.
“We at DOLE, together with our conference partners are very much into promoting green jobs. We believe that our businesses, our workplaces and our economies as a whole will not survive unless we adapt and respond effectively to the challenges of climate change. Promoting green jobs not only secures the person’s survival but also his or her sustainability, viability, and vitality,” said Labour and Employment Secretary Baldoz.
With the theme: “Promoting Green Jobs and Decent Work towards Inclusive Growth,” the conference convened over 300 participants at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City on 15-16 August 2011. Sessions included Green Jobs: Employment, Environment and Labor Policy Framework; Green Jobs in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Sector; Green, Decent Jobs in Solid Waste Management; Job Multipliers in Natural Resource Protection and Management; the Green Shift of Technology, Skills and Bottomlines in Basic Industries; GREENerations: Leading the Path to a Greener Future; Green Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; and the Philippine Imperative for Climate Resilient Growth and Development:
Disaster Risks Reduction and Management.
The conference is part of the Green Jobs Initiative launched in 2007 by the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Organization of Employers.
“This initiative was the missing link that addresses the two defining challenges of today - to create millions of quality jobs and decent work, in particular in developing Asia, while at the same time generating less carbon and adapting the economy and making the people’s livelihood more resilient to climate change, said Mrs Sachiko Yamamoto, Regional Director of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
The ILO supported the First Philippine Green Jobs Conference through the Green Jobs in Asia project, funded by the Government of Australia. The conference served as a platform to initiate discussion and information exchange at the national level of green jobs opportunities in the move towards a low-carbon, climate resilient, environmentally friendly development.
Co-convening the First Philippine Green Jobs Conference are the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the National Youth Commission (NYC); the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA); and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Conference partners include the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), and Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP). Globe Telecoms, STI Colleges and Education Centers, Neo Laptops and Jobstreet.com also extended their support to the conference.