In a joint statement released on 27 August in Geneva, Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) announced plans to increase collaboration ahead of the UN Secretary-General's Climate Summit in New York in September 2014.

The statement highlights the upcoming Climate Summit as a great opportunity to move forward on the key challenges concerning the environment, health and the economy, while at the same time providing a big boost for the creation of decent jobs across the globe:

Going green and addressing climate change is still viewed by some as hampering growth and threatening jobs. We know that is not the case. If properly managed, environmental sustainability can lead to more and better jobs, poverty reduction and social inclusion. In fact, the transition to the green economy could generate up to 60 million additional jobs over the next two decades.

Beyond the September Climate Summit, the UNFCCC and the ILO underlined their commitment to jointly mobilize action in support of an ambitious and meaningful global climate change agreement in Paris in 2015.

The statement was issued as Ms Figueres was preparing to speak at the WHO Conference on Health and Climate taking place from 27-29 August 2014.

Read the full statement     fr    esp

Read the report Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World which gathers data on sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency in buildings, sustainable transportation, and organic agriculture, and draws conclusions and recommendations for policy makers, business and industry, workers and trade unions in the context of the transition towards a low-carbon economy.

Read the report entitled Ecosystems, Economy and Employment: A labour approach to biodiversity, which highlights the relationship between employment and biodiversity. Read the report in Spanish.