Push Admin

Informal workers in PH, rest of Asia risk losing out in green economy push, officials warn

Article (news)

Beh Lih Yi, Thomson Reuters Foundation

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A jeepney driver plies his route with signboards on his dashboard. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/12/03/20170522-quezon-jeepney-protest-dashboard-prohibitions-h-22-jc.jpg"/><figcaption>A jeepney driver plies his route with signboards on his dashboard. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>KUALA LUMPUR — Asia&#x27;s huge pool of informal workers must not be left behind in the global push for greener economies, officials and experts said, warning of social repercussions if the transition away from fossil fuels leaves unprotected labour more vulnerable.</p><p>Despite decades of economic growth, Asia-Pacific accounts for about two-thirds of the world&#x27;s 2 billion informal workers, in sectors from industry to agriculture, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).</p><p>The rate of informal employment across the region, including those in part-time and temporary jobs without social protection, is on average 68% of the workforce.</p><p>That poses a challenge to Asian governments seeking to shift to a low-carbon economy and employ a larger share of labour in areas such as renewable energy, officials told an ILO forum on the theme of &quot;just transition&quot; this week.</p><p>Amina Maharjan, an expert on livelihood and migration in Nepal with the non-profit International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, said it was important to ensure informal workers do not simply lose their traditional livelihoods.</p><p>In coal-dependent countries like India and Indonesia, for example, many local communities earn a living from coal mining - work that is set to disappear as the world steps up efforts to ditch fossil fuels and curb climate change.</p><p>Workers need help - including social safety nets and skills training - to benefit from &quot;quality jobs&quot; in new, greener areas such as solar power or clean transport, Maharjan added.</p><p>How to achieve a socially fair, green transition emerged as a top priority when countries met in Scotland last month for the COP26 climate talks, working to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above preindustrial times.</p><p>Broadly, a just transition seeks to ensure the benefits of a green economy shift are shared widely, while supporting those who could lose out economically in the move away from fossil fuels and other high-carbon industries.</p><div><strong>JEEPNEYS</strong></div><p>Some developing countries have said they will struggle to transition without international support in the form of finance and technology, while in parts of Asia, the highly informal workforce could further complicate efforts, officials say.</p><p>In the Philippines, for example, a government push to phase out jeepneys - hugely popular, cheap passenger trucks - for more environmentally friendly public transport has met strong opposition.</p><p>The operators and drivers of some 200,000 jeepneys in the country of 105 million people have called the move &quot;anti-poor&quot; and a threat to their livelihoods.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/07/21/jeepney-modernization-road-paved-with-difficulties-debt-danger">Jeepney modernization: Road paved with difficulties, debt, danger</a></li></ul><p>Paola Alvarez, an assistant secretary at the Department of Finance, said jeepneys provide an &quot;informal means of transportation&quot; for a majority of the rural and urban poor.</p><p>&quot;The factor we need to look into is: How do we properly capacitate the drivers and the labour force that will be affected when we make this transition?&quot; she told the ILO forum.</p><p>In Indonesia too, which has about 70 million informal workers - from motorcycle taxi drivers to farmers - ensuring small and medium-sized businesses, its main economic pillar, have the capacity to transform and retrain workers is key.</p><p>&quot;The skilling program will be critical,&quot; said Anna Amalia, a specialist at the environmental affairs division of Indonesia&#x27;s National Development Planning Ministry.</p><p>Smaller enterprises usually have limited capacity to provide good working conditions and labour rights protection, she added.</p><div><strong>BEYOND ENERGY</strong></div><p>At the Glasgow climate talks, developing nations pushed for more support for a &quot;just transition&quot; from wealthy governments, which made a series of financial pledges towards that goal.</p><p>They included a $2.5-billion funding program to help South Africa, India, Indonesia and the Philippines wean themselves off coal power and onto clean energy in a swift, socially just way.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/11/11/21/philippines-other-poor-nations-struggle-with-un-climate-fund">That sinking feeling: Philippines, other poor nations struggle with UN climate fund</a></li></ul><p>South Africa will also be able to tap a further $8.5 billion from a separate donor partnership that plans to assist the world&#x27;s 12th biggest emitter of greenhouse gases to move away from coal power and drastically reduce its emissions by 2030.</p><p>Kate Hughes, a climate-change specialist at the Manila-based Asian Development Bank, said that while there is a consensus on the need for a just transition, the discussion now is how best to go about it, urging the ILO to produce clear guidelines.</p><p>&quot;There&#x27;s good recognition that we need to do it, but limited practical examples,&quot; Hughes said, adding that in Asia especially, a big swathe of the economy will likely be affected.</p><p>&quot;Fishing, transport, forestry, agriculture - there are so many industries that will be impacted, and we need to push that just transition conversation to be broader than the energy sector,&quot; she said.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PTUDG_VFP3w?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

In the Philippines, a government push to phase out jeepneys for more environmentally friendly public transport has met strong opposition.

Informal workers in PH, rest of Asia risk losing out in green economy push, officials warn

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Business

Informal workers in PH, rest of Asia risk losing out in green economy push, officials warn

Beh Lih Yi,

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Published December 03, 2021 06:23 AM PHT

Read More:

Asia

informal workers

green economy

Asia-Pacific

International Labor Organization

ILO

informal employment

International Center for Integrated Mountain Development

COP26 climate talks

jeepneys

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.