Climate change mitigation to create new jobs in Philippines

Governmental efforts to increase the growth of environmentally-friendly and green business across the Philippines are expected to create a new demand for skilled labour and boost the economy, according to government representatives.

In a released statement, the Filipino Labour Under-secretary, Lourdes Trasmonte, stated the government is examining the emergence of new kinds of employment as a result of continuing efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

“There are new skills to be needed by the industry and these are what we are calling green jobs or those that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring the environment,” Trasmonte said.

Nearly a third of the country's 80 provinces, mainly in central and southern regions, were inundated by torrential rain in December 2010, resulting in severe flooding and landslides affecting more than two million people. Damage to agricultural and infrastructure was estimated to have reached more than two billion pesos.

Trasmonte claims protecting the Philippines from the results of climate change would require new skills in different industries.

New employment opportunities expected to emerge will be within solid waste management, renewable energy, natural resources preservation, and disaster risk reduction management, according to an initial study undertaken by the Filipino Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE).

However, Trasmonte stated the DOLE is still in the process of identifying jobs that could be eliminated and those to be created as the government promotes environmentally-friendly programmes.

“While jobs could be eliminated, there could also be transformation and creation of new skills that are more environment-friendly like we are looking at jobs to be produced through waste management,” she said.

The Filipino government is believed to be in the process of determining the total number of green jobs to be generated and is expected to draft a national action agenda promoting the newly created positions.

Article by Diva Rodriguez | Climate Action