Labor and Climate Change: G20 Strategies for a Just Transition
The consequences of climate change have directly impacted the deterioration of workers’ life quality worldwide. They are increasingly susceptible to various health and safety risks due to extreme weather events, including exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation, air pollution in the workplace, vector-borne diseases, and agrochemical products, as reported by the International Labour Organization. In an exclusive article for the G20 Brasil website, researcher Atahualpa Blanchet examines the role of G20 member countries in identifying pathways and solutions to this challenge. He asserts that "Just Transition" is one of the most prominent concepts for coordinating a set of measures to effectively address the causes and effects of climate change internationally and its impacts on the workforce and affected communities.
The 2024 Brazilian presidency of the G20 has identified the impact of climate change as one of the key discussion topics. Data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicate that workers are among the most affected by global warming and are exposed to various health and safety risks resulting from increasingly extreme, intense, and frequent weather events.
It is worth noting that workers are exposed to a number of potential hazards in the course of their duties, including solar ultraviolet radiation, extreme weather events such as storms and excessive rainfall, historic droughts, air pollution in the workplace, vector-borne diseases, and the use of agrochemical products.
In a report published in April 2024, the ILO warns that more than 22 million occupational injuries and nearly 19,000 deaths per annum are attributed to excessive heat affecting over 2.4 billion workers.
Other serious health risks such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders, kidney dysfunctions, and mental disorders are attributable to air pollution in the workplace. This reveals the influence of environmental factors and the impacts of climate change, affecting approximately 70% of workers worldwide and causing a total of over 860,000 deaths per annum.
Those employed in sectors such as agriculture, construction, transportation, and emergency services are particularly susceptible to the risks associated with climate change. Concurrently, the prevalence of precarious employment relationships and labor informality serves to exacerbate the situation, particularly in less developed countries.
In this context, Just Transition stands out as a prominent concept in G20 discussions aimed at coordinating international efforts to effectively tackle the root causes and consequences of climate change, particularly regarding its impact on the workforce and affected communities.
Efforts concentrating on professional training and the development of digital and environmental skills, along with the promotion of training in human-algorithm interaction for adept utilization of Artificial Intelligence tools, represent key avenues delineated for the essential adaptation to an economy that is progressively shifting toward digitization and decarbonization.
The digital, energy, and neo-industrial transitions are interlinked dimensions crucial for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Emerging technologies like robotics and Artificial Intelligence are anticipated to be harnessed for environmental conservation and social progress, with a focus on placing the workforce at the forefront of public policies. This approach seeks to supplement the deployment of automation tools with human creativity and labor.
The G20 and measures to protect workers from climate change
To accomplish these goals, the G20 leverages substantial institutional knowledge amassed via its Working Groups. With its member countries capable of strategic coordination, the G20 has the potential to effectively tackle issues concerning climate change and its impacts on the global workforce.
Within the G20 countries, Canada stands out as an example for its implementation of the Climate Change and Just Transition Action Plan. This initiative aims to protect workers and communities impacted by the shift to a low-carbon economy. The plan includes support measures for training, relocation, and re-skilling workers from traditional sectors to more sustainable ones.
To accomplish these goals, the G20 leverages substantial institutional knowledge amassed via its Working Groups. With its member countries capable of strategic coordination, the G20 has the potential to effectively tackle issues concerning climate change and its impacts on the global workforce.
In Germany, the National Energy Transition Program (Energiewende) is designed to foster the creation of green jobs and ensure an equitable transition for workers impacted by the decline in fossil fuel usage. This initiative involves investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable infrastructure, thereby generating new employment prospects in sectors such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy.
Another significant example is the New Industry Brasil (Nova Indústria Brasil - NIB) policy (neo-industrialization), initiated in 2024, which focuses on the digitization and decarbonization of the country's energy and production systems. This effort is supported by financing options provided by institutions such as the Financier of Studies and Projects (Financiadora de Produtos e Projetos - FINEP) and the Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social - BNDES).
One of the primary objectives of the New Industry Initiative is to digitize 90% of the country's industries by 2033, underscoring the significance of innovation, connectivity infrastructure, and digital government strategies. Additionally, decarbonization and the promotion of bioeconomy are pivotal aspects of the initiative, with actions such as certifications for sustainable products (e.g., Green Seal and Amazon Seal) integrated into the strategy to achieve a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Similarly, the Itaipu Mais que Energia project by Itaipu Binacional seeks to advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through initiatives in environmental sanitation, renewable energy, integrated water and soil management, as well as social, community, and infrastructure projects. These efforts span across 434 municipalities, impacting approximately 11 million people. This showcases the potential contribution of the Global South toward crafting effective public policies for sustainable development.
Just Transition policies and the G20
The G20 Employment Working Group prioritizes the development of just transition policies as one of its key pillars. In 2023, member countries of the bloc actively engaged in the adoption of the Resolution on Just Transition for Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies for All, as ratified by the International Labour Conference.
The document underscores the critical need to prioritize a just transition, aiming to achieve social justice, decent work, poverty eradication, and the active involvement of stakeholders, including governments, employers, and workers. It acknowledges the importance of collective bargaining rights and freedom of association. Additionally, it offers a policy roadmap to foster a safe and healthy work environment throughout the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Among its specific recommendations, notable measures include regulations setting workplace temperature limits, the establishment of guidelines for protection against ultraviolet radiation, the development and enactment of emergency response plans for extreme weather events, the implementation of protective measures during severe weather occurrences such as activity suspension, and the adoption of protocols for remote work execution in instances of heavy rains and severe storms, especially for workers engaged in on-site arrangements.
The document underscores the critical need to prioritize a just transition, aiming to achieve social justice, decent work, poverty eradication, and the active involvement of stakeholders, including governments, employers, and workers. It acknowledges the importance of collective bargaining rights and freedom of association. Additionally, it offers a policy roadmap to foster a safe and healthy work environment throughout the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Similarly, public and private institutions have been encouraged to adopt telecommuting and hybrid work schedules to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. This approach aims to reduce carbon emissions and mobility costs, optimize time management, ensure productivity, and enhance worker well-being by lowering the risks of illnesses and accidents.
The ILO elevated Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) to the status of a Principle and Fundamental Right at Work in 2022. Now, OHS confronts the challenge of implementing its principles amidst the rapid changes in climate, demographics, technology, energy, and production.
Given the track record of G20 countries in formulating collective goals and objectives to safeguard rights, diversify and strengthen economic complementarities, and expand the utilization of clean and renewable energies, the bloc has the potential to make significant strides in building consensus toward a just transition. This transition would prioritize and promote workforce safety and health, reduce inequalities, and foster development in a digitized and low-carbon economy.
Atahualpa Blanchet is a researcher at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of São Paulo (IEA/USP) and also works with the Digital Transformation and Society Group at PUC/SP