WHILE 80 per cent of the skills needed for the low-emissions transition in the short to medium term already exist in today’s workforce, over 40 per cent of these workers risk losing their jobs due to climate change. 

According to a report by Deloitte, 43 per cent of Asia-Pacific workers are currently employed in climate-reliant industries vulnerable to job disruption. 

“Vulnerable industries” are those most likely to be affected by the physical impacts of climate damage and the net-zero economic transition. Such industries include agriculture, conventional energy, manufacturing, transportation and construction. 

Apac’s high share of emissions-intensive industries means that millions of workers and communities depend on activities that will need to be replaced by zero-emission alternatives. For some workers, this may mean job loss and retraining.

Meanwhile, others may be able to access new pathways in other industries as engineers, electricians and managerial workers. 

Most current workers will likely need to upskill, rather than completely retrain, to find a new job or remain in their current one. Nevertheless, it is important to note that labour mobility will not be seamless – for one, high-emissions jobs are not likely to be in the same locations as low-carbon jobs.  

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Deloitte cautioned that “the workforce impacts of climate-led transformation could be severe without careful and coordinated planning”. In order to minimise job disruption, business leaders in Apac must invest in climate adaptation and mitigate the risks of unmanaged costs.

However, if Apac economies can coordinate rapid decarbonisation and undergo a just transition, the report estimated the creation of 180 million jobs by 2050 and an additional US$47 trillion to the region’s economies by 2070. 

Apac governments face the unique challenge of ensuring enough green talent to drive the transition, while looking out for their disrupted workers in emissions-intensive industries. Policymakers must ensure that skilling pathways and social protections are available to disrupted workers so they can better adapt to the transition. 

Currently, many governments struggle with translating long-term policy ambitions into near-term action. The level of policy readiness varies widely across Asean countries, with most states making good general progress via sector-specific strategies but failing to address just-transition plans. 

While green jobs in developing countries can provide routes out of poverty, the Deloitte report noted that many are “informal, poorly paid and do not offer safe working conditions, benefits or opportunities for advancement”.

To better support vulnerable industries and workers, public policy must set ambitious decarbonisation targets, undergo active skills relocation and set up an adaptive education and skills system, it added.