Editorial
Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, with historical contributions from unsustainable energy use, land use and patterns of consumption and production. The related, adverse impacts of climate change on nature and people disproportionately affect the most vulnerable among us. Globally, this concerns no less than 3.6 billion people, mostly in developing countries. In Southeast Asia, 100 million workers with jobs linked to the environment could be affected. They are also the most vulnerable: people employed in agriculture, mining or water and waste management typically gain two-thirds of the national median labour earnings. Environmentally linked employment also goes hand in hand with informality, depriving workers of labour rights and social protection. In the region, about 90% of these jobs are in the informal economy.
Southeast Asia has achieved remarkable economic growth over the past few decades, but it has relied heavily on natural resources: climate-related risks thus threaten many jobs, which calls for urgent adaptation and mitigation measures to protect the livelihoods of the most exposed populations. However, although ASEAN countries have green growth objectives in their national development plans, too little attention has been paid so far to the social impacts of the green transition, especially on employment.
In that context, this report takes a close look at the energy sector: three-quarters of Southeast Asia’s total energy supply currently relies on unabated fossil fuels, mainly coal. Yet, there are large potential economic, as well as social gains in transitioning to renewable sources. In Indonesia, for instance, the world’s largest exporter of coal, a transition towards cleaner energy production could create more than 1 million new jobs. One challenge, however, is protecting the workers who will lose their jobs, particularly in the coal mining value chain. This concerns 250 000 people, heavily concentrated in a few geographic locations and who do not necessarily have the skills to be reallocated in clean energy sectors. Here, social protection and targeted territorial development can mitigate the adverse consequences of the transition.
The report also looks at agriculture, which employs about three in ten workers in Southeast Asia. Most of them are smallholder farmers and seasonal informal workers, who often lack decent livelihoods. We find that a transition to more environmentally sustainable practices, such as organic farming, could increase both employment in the agricultural sector and the income of farmers, while improving the environment. Sectors linked to chemicals and fertiliser inputs, by contrast, would experience losses in output and jobs. There, policy makers need to consider how benefits are distributed, and protect those at risk of being left behind.
Eventually, whether in energy or agriculture, the conclusion is an optimistic one: policy reforms can help Southeast Asia meet the triple objective of economic efficiency, social equity and environmental sustainability. For that, they must protect vulnerable people relying on the environment for their livelihoods from the adverse effects of climate change and green transitions and prepare workers to transition out of losing sectors. Social protection schemes for informal workers and the populations most exposed to climate-related disasters must be strengthened. And policy makers must carefully assess the potential effects of their green and low-emission development strategies on jobs, based on the location and profiles of workers, in order to adequately anticipate skill development and reallocation measures.