A World Bank report has said that investments in building climate resilience can deliver benefits equivalent to 150 million jobs by 2050.
The report entitled Jobs in a Changing Climate covers 93 economies.
The report, which draws on evidence from the bank’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) representing 64 percent of the population and 77 percent of the GDP of low- and middle-income countries, demonstrates ways that countries can integrate their own climate and development goals to drive job creation, economic growth, and resilience.
The report finds that the impacts of climate change will negatively affect employment—with the potential for the equivalent of 43 million job losses by 2050 across 49 countries—a figure that rises to 260 million when extrapolated to all low- and middle-income countries.
However, the report shows that investments that build greater resilience and help countries, communities, and companies adapt can significantly reduce these losses. Investments in adaptation are estimated to generate the equivalent of 25 million “more and better-paid jobs” across the 49 countries analyzed, and up to 150 million jobs when extrapolated globally.
The report also finds that low-emission development can deliver net economic gains over the short term in most countries, with only modest effects on aggregate employment. While aggregate job impact numbers may be small, there are significant sectoral and regional shifts, with emerging technologies and industries creating opportunities, while other sectors will decline.
The report identifies opportunities for investments in adaptation and low-emission development to create new job opportunities, and protect vulnerable workers and communities.
To maximize job creation and manage labor market transitions, the report calls for targeted policies, including investing in human capital, improving the business environment, facilitating worker reallocation, and protecting vulnerable people and communities. Mobilizing both public and private capital will be essential to meet the large investment needs identified.
The World Bank Group’s CCDRs support countries to identify how to accelerate their development ambitions in line with their own nationally determined contributions and long-term strategies.
