ILO To Help Nigeria Meet Green Transition For Sustainable Future, Decent Job

ILO To Help Nigeria Meet Green Transition For Sustainable Future, Decent Job

THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has expressed its commitment to ensuring that transition to a sustainable future takes place and meets the requirements of decent work in Nigeria.

ILO Country Director for Nigerian, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Mrs Venessa Phala, said this at the Social Dimension of Ecological Transition, Nigeria Just Transition and Green Jobs event held in Abuja last week.

She said, “The ILO Country Office, Abuja, with the support of the French government has commenced a project, Social Dimension of Ecological Transition, which has been domiciled as the “Just Transition and Green Jobs for Nigeria Project.” The project is a multi-country project, also being implemented in some other African countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria. It is scheduled to run until December 2024.

“The project is expected to support target countries on just transitions in three main areas; strengthening institutional structures for social dialogue on Just Transition; anchoring and strengthening research and development capacity for social and employment impact assessment of climate policies, and support for the formulation and implementation of policies based on inclusive social dialogue and integrated analytical models.

“The overall objective of the project is to mobilise government, workers’ and employers’ organisations and development partners as well as the private sector, Civil Society Organizations and NGOs to accelerate climate action with decent work and just transition for all.”

Ms Vanessa also said, “There can never be a better time for the launch of such a significant project other than now, in view of the recent COP 26 in Glasglow and the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work in 2019, in addition to the current context of the health, economic and social crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

“The actions planned under this project will contribute to strengthening the resilience of local economies and expansion of opportunities for decent job creation. More so, the 2015 Paris Agreement have highlighted a just transition and decent work as essential elements to responses to climate change.

“Also, the guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, adopted by the ILO constituents offer a framework to guide this transformation. At the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit, the UN also initiated a Climate Action for Jobs initiative which aims to: enable ambitious climate action that delivers decent jobs and advances social justice; support countries on bold solutions for a transition towards a sustainable future that is just for all and enjoys broad-based support; facilitate an inclusive and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis for building back better.

“The initiative brings policy, technical and programmatic support to countries that make commitments to a just transition to achieve ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation goals, while enhancing quality employment creation and supporting those negatively affected.”