The United States is joining the Climate Action for Jobs Initiative, which brings to 48 the coalition of countries that have committed to support a just ecological transition by formulating a national plan for a just transition, creating decent and green jobs.
The Climate Action for Jobs Initiative welcomes the participation of the United States and looks forward to it playing a prominent role in the Initiative to unite global efforts on climate change and decent work.
“The United States’ commitment to the creation of decent work and quality jobs as an integral part of its efforts to combat climate change is central to a fully successful integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development,” says Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the ILO, which is the hosting organization of the Initiative.
A just transition is essential to facilitate ambitious climate actions. The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has highlighted the importance of a just transition to enable deeper ambitions for accelerated mitigation of climate change and encouraged policymakers to adopt and implement just transition principles.
The Climate Action for Jobs Initiative was launched in 2019 at the UN Climate Action Summit to enable climate action with decent jobs and social justice, and to support countries in a just transition that is based on broad support. The ILO has been a spearhead in advocating a just transition to greener economies. Its Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, adopted by ILO constituents in 2015, offer a framework to guide this transformation.
The Initiative now has 48 partner countries who have formally made commitments to formulate national plans for a just transition. It engages with all partners such as national or subnational governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, academia and think tanks, multilateral and regional institutions, businesses, and civil society organizations working to a just transition for all in the context of ambitious action against climate change.