UNEP organized a special event entitled “Green Jobs: Towards Sustainable Work in a Low-Carbon World” on Friday 22 February 2008 from 13.30 to 14.30 p.m. on the occasion of the 10th Special Session of the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GCSS.X/GMEF), held in the Principality of Monaco, from 20 to 22 February 2008.

The special event, featured guest speakers including:

• Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi - Honourable Deputy Minister Of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Of South Africa:  Remarks presented by Mrs. Thandiwe F. Shongwe, Minister for Tourism, Environment and Communications, Swaziland; Network of Women Ministers for the Environment. Click here to read the statement
  
  
• Daniel M. Kammen, Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Energy, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
  Click here to view this presentation
  
  
• Dr. Peter Poschen, Senior Advisor Sustainable Development and Climate Change, International Labour Organization (ILO)
  Click here to view this presentation
  
  
• Lucien Royer, Occupational Health Safety Environment and Sustainable Development Director, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
  
  
• Björn Stigson, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

The release of the preliminary report commissioned by UNEP, ILO and ITUC on Green Jobs: Towards Sustainable Work in a Low-Carbon World, provided an opportunity to explore some of the challenges facing the world of work in the shift to new production and consumption patterns in response to the climate challenge. Already it is clear that a significant quantity of “green jobs” have been created in sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency in buildings and vehicles and sustainable transportation systems. The Green Jobs preliminary report estimates that “in 2006 there were over 2,250,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector alone. To place this “rough” figure into perspective, the total employment of the oil and gas and oil refining sector in 1999 was just over 2 million workers, the formal Mining sector was approximately 11 million workers, and air transport accounts for approximately 4 million workers” (http://www.unep.org/civil_society/Publications/index.asp).

Both ILO and ITUC made a positive projection of the impacts on employment and the necessary measures to accompany this transition to a low carbon economy, whereas Mr Kammen presented a “package” of measures and initiatives taken in California to promote the use of renewable energy, and why it is considered the next area of job growth. For business and industry, one of the key questions is not the job growth but our ability to generate enough energy to make the transformation of society a reality, and henceforth to drag billions out of poverty by securing decent employment. Some participants considered Green jobs as co-benefits resulting from our efforts to address the climate challenge and therefore are not the key drivers for change.

One of the main conclusions of the special event was that the necessary shift to a low carbon economy is potentially the next source of major job growth (especially in the renewable sector), but this transformation of society can only happen if accompanied by a fair transition, the development and re-qualification of current jobs, the mobilization of the necessary financial resources to ensure clean technologies’ transfers to developing countries, and a strong support to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Additional resources

• Report of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory - Putting Renewables to Work:How Many Jobs Can theClean Energy Industry Generate?
• United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works  Testimony for the September 25, 2007 Hearing on:  Green Jobs Created by Global Warming Initiatives 
• Decent work for sustainable development –  The challenge of climate change
• Berkeley Breakthrough on Financing Solar Energy and Energy Efficiency
• Green and Gender sensitive Jobs in a climate-challenged world

For more information visit the Green Jobs Initiative web page