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Emergent transitions in various industry sectors in terms of job loss and displacement across the country should be addressed properly, initiatives for Just Transition can be an effective instrument
Md. Alam Hossain, Director, OSHE | 05 January 2023
Just transition action is about a matter of execution, not just on paper. It leads greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.
According to the climate change vulnerability index, Bangladesh is the sixth most vulnerable country to climate change impacts and climate change is one of the greatest risks to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth. Jobs are affected by a range of climate issues, such as rising ocean waters, floods, heat stress, forest and other fires, and the destruction of infrastructure.
Bangladesh is losing 7 billion working hours annually due to extreme heat exposure caused by global warming, a new study reveals and if the global temperature increases by 1 degree Celsius, the country could lose approximately 21 billion working hours, said the study, conducted by researchers at Duke University in the US.
According to the researchers, most of the economic loss occurs in low and middle income tropical countries like Bangladesh where a large number of people are involved in manual labour involving agriculture and construction work.
Climate change is forcing already-vulnerable people into often exploitative, precarious and poorly paid work, including migrating abroad for unsafe jobs where their rights are often unprotected. Increased salinity and flooding has driven people in Khulna and Jashore area into new economic activities—primarily away from previously profitable farming into poverty-wage, non-farm economic activities with hand-to-mouth existence. Cross-border migration of people from Khulna and Jashore to India for better economic prospects was found to be common and recurring, with international migration growing. Workers forced to transition into new jobs were found to lack information, training and financial resources to adapt to employment changes, and were mostly relying on friends and family for information and other types of resources to find new jobs.
The Climate Action for Jobs Initiative brings together all these actors to provide support to countries on bold solutions for a transition towards a sustainable future that is just and enjoys broad-based support.