23 October 2018: A publication from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) underscores the linkages between environmental sustainability and the world of work. The authors argue that transitioning to more sustainable environmental and labor models could create additional jobs and ensure decent work while simultaneously supporting a more sustainable environment.
The report titled, ‘Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Environmental sustainability and employment in Latin America and the Caribbean,’ explains that the current development pattern in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is deplete the region’s natural resource wealth. The report points to biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change, atmospheric, soil and water pollution, overexploitation of resources and soil degradation as symptoms of the region’s natural resource consumption. Within this context, the report explores how the decarbonization of the energy sector and the promotion of a circular economy can support improvements in the world of work. These actions align with SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), which aims to promote a circular economy through SDG target 12.5 on reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse, as well as SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and its target 8.4, which focuses on global resource efficiency in consumption and production, and decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation.
Job losses in mineral and material extraction would be more than compensated by job creation in reprocessing materials.
According to the report, a transition toward energy sustainability would create over one million jobs in LAC by 2030. In addition, the report finds that overall progress towards a circular economy could create 4.8 million net jobs by 2030, explaining that losses associated with jobs in mineral and material extraction would be more than compensated by job creation in sectors reprocessing aluminum, steel, wood and other materials as part of a circular economy’s focus on repairability, remanufacturing, reuse and recycling.
ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena and José Manuel Salazar, ILO Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, recommend complementarity of policies to ensure that transitions create decent employment that is fair for everyone. In the report’s foreword, Bárcena and Salazar recommend that policies for environmental sustainability be accompanied by “integrated legal frameworks and policies for social protection, skills development and gender equality.”
The report provides an overview of legal frameworks, policies and regulations that support an environmental transition while promoting employment creation and decent work, ranging from the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), which address international labour laws and regulations, to the Paris Agreement on climate change, which includes aspects on the world of work. The report also examines LAC legal frameworks for the energy sector, finding that six out of seven sampled countries explicitly reference skills development and research and development in their energy sector frameworks. [ECLAC Press Release] [Publication: Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean]