Publication: Supporting People and Workers in an Inclusive Green Transition: Framing Social Protection and Labor Policies to Enable and Ensure a Just Green Transition
Loading...
Published
2025-07-31
ISSN
Date
2025-09-29
Author(s)
Migliaccio, Emanuela
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper discusses the role of social protection and labor (SPL) policies in complementing green transition policies by both mitigating the potential negative impacts of the transition on workers and low-income households and by enabling people to take advantage of emerging opportunities. The paper proposes a conceptual framework to assess how green transition policies influence people through changes in prices, production, and jobs. The paper reviews country case studies of SPL programs designed to protect people exposed to the potential negative impacts of the green transition, to prepare workers for green jobs and to promote environmentally sustainable livelihoods. Key factors of success in integrating SPL policies into green transition policies include effective institutional coordination, strong delivery systems, and integrated data systems.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Honorati, Maddalena; Migliaccio, Emanuela. 2025. Supporting People and Workers in an Inclusive Green Transition: Framing Social Protection and Labor Policies to Enable and Ensure a Just Green Transition. Social Protection and Labor Discussion Paper; No. 2602, July 2025. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43779 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Towards a Just Coal Transition Labor Market Challenges and People’s Perspectives from Wielkopolska(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-10-18)Part of a three-region set of papers analyzing coal-related labor market challenges in Poland, this paper focuses on Wielkopolska, which is most advanced in the transition out of coal. Finding viable job transitions is of enormous importance. The findings call for a more territorial-oriented approach to brokering the coal transition, rather than a sectoral one. First, even though limited from a regional perspective (4,000 workers), affected jobs are highly concentrated in a few already lagging and depopulating municipalities. Second, while coal-related workers are similarly skilled as other workers in Wielkopolska, non-coal related workers in the at-risk municipalities are substantially less skilled, exposing them to potential displacement effects. Finally, while ready to work and to be re-skilled, discrete choice experiments about their job attribute preferences show that all workers are averse both to commuting and relocating for work, even more so than in Silesia and Lower Silesia. Complementary social protection and employment support will be needed, and the paper suggests some policy options based on international experience. The paper concludes by illustrating how a big-data driven job-matching tool, calibrated on the Polish labor market, could be used to assist caseworkers in identifying “viable-job-transition-pathways” for affected workers as well as to help policymakers identify reskilling needs and attract investments.Publication Supporting People and Protecting Workers during the Green Transition in Kosovo(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-24)Kosovo has been solidifying its eƯorts for the green transition, shaped by international and national commitments. The country joined global climate action eƯorts in 2018, setting voluntary national commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the share of renewable energy. As part of the Energy Community Treaty, Kosovo committed to harmonizing its climate change policies with the European Union and contributing to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Despite steady economic growth and poverty reduction, Kosovo faces challenging labor market conditions with low levels of labor force participation and employment, low productivity, and significant unemployment. The report reviews the impact of the green transition on employment in Kosovo and the eƯects it will have on the workforce and the skills base required in the future. Globally, as in Kosovo, the structural change of the currently carbon-intensive economy will inevitably displace jobs in polluting sectors with high Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, while creating new jobs that accompany the changing economy. The magnitude of risks that losers of the transition will face varies depending on the skills gap that workers need to overcome to move into green occupations, or at minimum, to one not at risk of displacement. Understanding the diƯerentiated risks is crucial for the Social Protection and Labor (SPL) system to facilitate workers’ smooth transition by providing intermediation, retraining, and up/reskilling opportunities, and provide those who fall between the cracks with appropriate temporary safety net support.Publication Results Readiness in Social Protection and Labor Operations(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-02)Labor allocation to its most efficient use, promoting employment and human capital investment as well as functioning labor markets can contribute to long-term economic growth, poverty reduction and to help workers manage their risks. A labor market policy framework includes both regulations and programs. However, the optimal framework is not standard and universal but varies country by country depending on the level of economic and financial development, culture and other structural characteristics. Labor market projects are equally concentrated in Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions and one is China. Interestingly, the number of projects having 'improving labor market' as the primary component has increased over time. All project development objectives in the cohort of projects reviewed focus on promoting higher employment and increasing economic opportunities as the main objective especially via training programs. About half of the projects also seek to reach specific vulnerable groups by improving targeting mechanisms and to improve the quality of social assistance services by reducing the cost of job search through access to enhanced employment services and by improving employability.Publication Results Readiness in Social Protection and Labor Operations(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-02)The main focus of the social protection and labor portfolio is on strengthening client's institutional capacity in the design and implementation of programs, but projects are not well equipped to track progress in this area. Correspondingly, there is a need to strengthen approaches to measuring and monitoring a 'missing middle' of service delivery, precisely those areas for which counterpart institutions are responsible during the course of a project. In particular, better measures of the primary functions of social protection and labor agencies are needed, such as identifying and enrolling beneficiaries, targeting, payment systems, fraud and error control, performance monitoring of service delivery providers, responsiveness to citizens, transparency, efficiency, management information systems and monitoring and evaluation systems. New World Bank initiatives particularly standard core indicators by sector and the introduction of results based investment lending call for substantial improvements in the use of monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Impact evaluations are included in about half of projects and should continue to be used selectively and strategically, particularly when the program is innovative, replicable and/ or scalable to reach a broader set of beneficiaries, addresses a knowledge gap and is likely to have a substantial policy impact. Structuring evaluations around core themes with common outcome measures is fundamental to building a global knowledge base on development effectiveness.Publication Options to Support Workers through a Transition away from Coal in Eastern Wielkopolska (March 2022)(World Bank, WAshington DC, 2023-05-30)The objective of this policy note is to provide an overview of the three draft project proposals and to recommend key design principles and implementation arrangement options for a coordinated outplacement program in the Eastern Wielkopolska region that would provide a package of services to motivate and help affected workers find suitable jobs in alignment with the TJTP. The focus of the note is on interventions supporting the social and labor transition in Eastern Wielkopolska, rather than the economic, spatial, and energy transformations which are also part of the JTM Pillar. Efforts to promote local economic development and environmental rehabilitation of affected subregions as well as to develop stakeholder engagement and public communication strategies are beyond the scope of this note.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem Accounts and Policy Recommendations: A Regional Synthesis Report of Ecosystem Extent, Condition, Services, and Asset Accounts 2000-2020(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-08-01)This regional synthesis report of the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem Accounts (2000-2020) compiled from data for each these six countries (namely: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of Congo. Ecosystem accounting enables countries to assess the value of their ecological capital, a key component of national wealth, by monitoring changes in ecosystem extent, condition, and ecosystem services in both physical and monetary terms. The accounts follow the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) Ecosystem Accounting methods, a standardized framework that uses concepts, definitions, and classifications consistent with the System of National Accounts (SNA). The individual country reports are also available. The value of domestic benefits provided by the forest ecosystems is significant, ranging from one percent of GDP for Equatorial Guinea to 15.4 percent of GDP for the Central African Republic. With global climate regulation being especially important, reflecting more than 95 percent of the value in most countries. Forest ecosystems in the Congo Basin retained around 90.9 billion tons of carbon in 2020, equivalent to 333.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide, which is 10x the amount of the total global emissions from the energy sector in 2020 (34.5 billion tons). The total asset value of the Congo Basin’s forests has almost doubled from US$ 12.3 trillion in 2000 to US$ 23.2 trillion in 2020. The overall asset value without the global public good value of climate change regulation stood at US$ 106 billion in 2000 and US$ 154 billion in 2020. While the total asset values are increasing, the per capita values are not keeping up with population growth. If one excludes the global public good value of carbon the picture becomes more negative, with a decrease in per capita of forests across all countries. These accounts should be institutionalized and enhanced periodically to inform policy and planning. The Congo Basin forests offer substantial ecological benefits, many of which remain unmonetized. These forest ecosystem accounts can improve understanding and inform policy development relating to the natural resource management sectors and those that impact on these assets, and on monetization of these critical ecosystem services.Publication South Asia Development Update, October 2025: Jobs, AI, and Trade(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-07)Growth in South Asia is on track to exceed earlier expectations and reach 6.6 percent in 2025, but is expected to slow to 5.8 percent in 2026. While this short-term outlook is subject to downside risks, over the longer term, artificial intelligence (AI) could promote growth by boosting productivity especially among those 15 percent of South Asian workers who are in jobs where AI strongly complements human labor. Such a growth dividend could be amplified by trade reforms. Carefully sequenced tariff cuts, especially in conjunction with broader free trade agreements, would encourage private investment and job creation in trade-related activities, which disproportionately employ South Asia’s younger and higher-skilled workers and have accounted for most of South Asia’s employment growth over the past decade. This could particularly benefit manufacturing, where elevated tariffs on production inputs currently diminish competitiveness. South Asia’s governments can support the adjustment of labor markets to new technologies and trade opportunities by proactively removing obstacles to workers’ reallocation to new firms, occupations, and locations. Simultaneously, they could protect vulnerable workers during this period of change by streamlining and strengthening safety nets.Publication Togo Economic Update, August 2025: Boosting Growth and Restoring Fiscal Space in Uncertain Times(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-08-28)Togo’s economic trajectory in recent years has been shaped by both resilient performance and emerging vulnerabilities. The 2025 Economic Update underscores the urgency of restoring fiscal space and implementing strategic structural reforms to sustain private sector-led growth and job creation. Through an integrated analysis in two chapters, the report presents a nuanced narrative of the country’s macroeconomic outlook and delineates actionable policy paths to foster inclusive, sustainable development.Publication Uganda Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-10)The Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) for Uganda examines the interplay between climate change and development. It presents how addressing climate change can support achieving the goals in Uganda’s Vision 2040 and Ten-Fold Growth Strategy, and help propel the country to upper-middle-income status. Uganda is the 14th most vulnerable nation to climate change, yet it is 163rd in readiness to address these risks, facing threats such as droughts and floods. The report highlights that, of the poorest households exposed to climate change, 80 percent already experience income loss from climate shocks. GDP could also drop by up to 3.1 percent by 2050 without additional climate action. Climate change poses numerous challenges, including increased variability in crop yields, potential internal climate migration of 12 million people by 2050, notable drop in labor productivity due to heat stress, increased health risks from waterborne diseases and malaria, and exposure of the country’s physical infrastructure to extreme climate events. To combat these challenges, the report recommends transitioning to a low-carbon, climate-resilient growth path by implementing four multisectoral intervention packages. These include boosting resilience through jobs for youth and services for the poor; promoting resilient and productive agriculture and natural resources with lower GHG emissions; developing climate-responsive energy, transport, and digital infrastructure; and fostering planned and climate-positive urbanization. Additionally, the report calls for whole-of-economy measures that strengthen governance of climate action, enhance preparedness for climate hazards including through improved early warning systems, operationalization of the national climate finance strategy, and incentivizing private sector participation. By implementing these intervention packages and whole-of-economy measures, Uganda can lower its risk to climate change and achieve sustainable economic growth.Publication Sahel Irrigation Strategy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-05)The Sahel Irrigation Strategy aims to guide participating countries to scale up irrigation expansion and modernization rapidly and responsibly with a more diverse suite of interventions to optimize the use of their natural and financial resources. It provides a comprehensive roadmap to unlock the full potential of sustainable irrigation as a driver of agricultural productivity, food security, and resilience across the Sahel. Its primary objectives include taking stock of the progress achieved over the past decade, identifying emerging trends and challenges, and moving beyond problem identification to actionable solutions rooted in lessons learned. The strategy establishes updated and shared goals for irrigated agriculture tailored to short-term (2035), medium-term (2045), and long-term (2055) horizons. These targets are accompanied by a clear framework for intervention, designed to foster collective commitment and coordinated efforts among the six Sahelian countries.