Wanted: 600 million green jobs! | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

World leaders, eminent economists, business and trade union leaders, and UN experts will gather for a three-day event in New York from 30 March to 1 April to grapple with the challenge of finding decent jobs for all.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Gladstone Christie, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof. Joseph Stiglitz are among the speakers briefing consultations organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) on how to achieve people-centred, sustainable and economically-sound development while tackling global unemployment.

Speaking about the importance of this ECOSOC meeting, Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) stated that "the world of work has always been the crucible in which significant and lasting social change is forged. However, the dynamics in today's labour markets challenge our ability to ensure decent work outcomes.And this is critical because generating enough good quality jobs is central to sustainable development."

There are presently 202 million people unemployed globally, with millions more working in poor conditions.

With one in every three workers living on less than US$2 a day, the participants will discuss how to achieve poverty eradication through stable and well-paid jobs. Success stories from around the globe and addresses from leaders of the ILO, International Trade Union Confederation and International Organization of Employers will shed light on practical policy initiatives and innovative, on-the-ground solutions to generating decent employment.

Vladimir Drobnjak, ECOSOC Vice-President said that “We must ensure that productive capacities, employment, decent work, and social protection are made more prominent in the future sustainable development agenda”.

Special sessions will also focus on opportunities to create jobs while addressing climate change, and on tackling the youth and gender dimensions of quality employment – the youth unemployment rate was almost three times the rate for adults in 2014, and the majority of the 1.45 billion workers working in vulnerable conditions globally are women.

The ECOSOC meeting comes as countries are gearing up for the Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa this July, the Sustainable Development Summit in New York, and the climate negotiations in Paris. The need for green growth ensures dignified employment for all is at the heart of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

To read more, please visit: http://bit.ly/600millionjobs