Green Jobs for the Poor: Why a Public Employment Approach is Needed Now

Abstract

In the context of the economic and environmental challenges that the world is facing today, there have been calls for a Global Green New Deal (see, for example, UNEP/ILO/IOE/ITUC, 2008). Such calls have highlighted the employment-creation benefits of “green” investments, mainly those aimed at accelerating the shift to low-carbon economies. Policy innovations by developing countries, such as South Africa and India in particular, also point to the value of employment-generating environmental activities relevant for reclaiming or enhancing access to public environmental goods and services, as well as for improving the productive livelihoods of the poor. This One Pager outlines the economic rationale for promoting these types of “green jobs” and for adopting a “public employment” approach in this regard.

No contexto dos desafios econômicos e ambientais que o mundo enfrenta atualmente, tem havido apelos