Green Jobs have become an emblem of a more sustainable economy and society that preserves the environment for present and future generations and is more equitable and inclusive of all people and all countries. Construction has been recognized as a significant contributor to climate change through its emission of global warming gases (GWG). Construction of new buildings and refurbishment of existing buildings alike also represent the largest potential for technically feasible and economically viable reductions of emissions and of energy consumption, while encouraging the development of new professional skills and generation of significant employment opportunities.
South Africa was the first country studied by the ILO in specific regard to Green Jobs in Construction and the present document is an edited version of the research report.
On 31 January 2011, the Embassy of Denmark in Nairobi brought together ministers, national and international business leaders, policy-makers and representatives from international financial institutions at a high-level conference to discuss how the private sector in Kenya can lead on Green Growth. The conclusions from the conference can be found in this report and aim at contributing to establish the necessary regulatory and financial framework and set priorities for green investments in Kenya.
Climate change is one of the greatest environmental issues of our time and the Asia-Pacific region is already experiencing its adverse impacts. Studies suggest that the costs of inaction on reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, the main source of climate change, would be many times the costs of action. This report stresses the need to take decisive steps quickly to get the developing countries in this region on course to make inroads in the global effort to combat climate change and achieve sustainable development and green growth. The course of action is a low-carbon development path. The energy system is the main contributor to climate change, representing a predominate share of total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and consequently the effort to tackle climate change has become a major driver of energy policy. The current level of emissions from fossil fuels, are unsustainable and threaten the environment on both local and global scales. Reducing the carbon intensity of energy emitted per unit of energy consumed is a key objective in reaching long- term climate goals. As long as the primary energy mix is biased towards fossil fuels, this would be difficult to achieve.
Climate change is becoming more evident and, as it increases, will alter the productivity of fisheries and the distribution of fish stocks. From an economic point of view, the changes will have impacts on fisheries and coastal communities in different ways. These expected changes require adaptable and flexible fisheries and aquaculture management policies and governance frameworks. However, the forms of future climate change and the extent of its impact remain uncertain. Fisheries policy makers therefore need to develop strategies and decision-making models in order to adapt to climate change under such uncertainty while taking into account social and economic consequences.
This report focuses on the potential for low carbon opportunities and the financing that could flow from such projects.
The report “Resource Productivity in the G8 and the OECD” (also available in French), responding to a request by G8 Environment Ministers at their meeting in Kobe in 2008, presents an evaluation of progress on resource productivity. It highlights key trends and main policy developments related to resource productivity in OECD countries, with a particular focus on efforts to implement sustainable materials management; and identifies the main policy challenges and opportunities and discusses the steps that need to be taken to achieve further progress.