Data on trade from WTO shows that most PAGE countries are slowly recovering in the imports and exports sector. Some countries, such as Morocco, India, Guatemala and China are even experiencing increases in percentage change in exports compared to 2019, in the months of July, August and September.
Source: WTO
An online discussion was held on 18 November 2020 on a Just Transition in the Textile Sector in China, co-hosted by ILO and CNTAC under PAGE and in partnership with the ILO-SIDA regional project on Decent Work in Garment Supply Chains in Asia. The online discussion built on the work and established partnerships of PAGE, ILO and CNTAC, with the aim to collect actionable data on the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, identify and prioritize interventions for recovery and re-structuring, and develop a process for multi-stakeholder engagement and capacity building for a Just Transition through social dialogue. The activity also contributes to the UN Climate Action for Jobs Initiative.
“The COVID-19 pandemic caused immense social and economic impacts on the textile and garment sector in Asia and the Pacific, affecting millions of workers and enterprises”, said Mr Dai Xiaochu, Deputy Director, ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia at the opening. “This on-going crisis provides an opportunity for the industry to revisit the weaknesses of the current supply chain model, and to start a restructure process taking into full consideration the interdependence between social, environmental, technological and economic dimensions. The green recovery of China’s textile and garment sector will also make significant contribution to the achievement of the ambitious goal set by President Xi at the 75th UN General Assembly to reach the carbon emission peak by 2030 and carbon neutralization by 2060.”
Ms LIU Hui, Ms LIU Hui, Deputy Director of Office for Social Responsibility, CNTAC, pointed out that as the world’s largest textile producer and exporter, China is seriously impacted by the pandemic. A large number of overseas orders has been cancelled and the enterprises face serious default risk, especially in the first quarter. The integrated nature of the national supply chain enhanced the sector’s resilience. The pandemic is changing the production model of the sector.
CNTAC has organized online trade fairs and information exchanges. Many companies switched to online distributions and innovations, smart manufacturing and ecommerce. The textile and garment sector is a labour-intensive, key livelihood sector engaging many rural women migrant workers. CNTAC calls on the international communities to strengthen cooperation and object trade protectionism to build back better across the global supply chain, e.g. by issuing a joint declaration with the textile associations in other Asian countries to call on the international brands to promote corporate responsibility and responsible procurement. Ms Liu further introduced the prospects and pathway to realize the sustainable development of the sector toward an innovation-driven technology industry, culture-led fashion industry and responsibility-oriented green industry, making effective contribution to the global green recovery for the textile and garment sector.
Dr Cristina Martinez, ILO Senior Specialist for Environment & Decent Work introduced the framework for Achieving a Just transition and the Climate Action for Jobs Initiative. Dr Samantha Sharpe, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, and Textile Eco-innovation Network in Asia (TERN) Convenor, introduced the global perspectives of the pandemic’s impact and emphasized the importance of collaboration and dialogue among key actors in the transition. The presentations put the national discussion into a broader context of a green recovery for the textile and garment sector across the global supply chain.
The discussion enhanced the participants’ understanding of the complex challenges and opportunities in promoting Just Transition and Green Jobs for the sector in the sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery process. It provided the participants an opportunity to analyse and discuss the on-going issues of the sector’s transition toward environmental sustainability, share good practices and lessons learned, and review the effectiveness of current approaches in light of international experiences and standards. The discussion also contributed to the on-going efforts for developing sound national policies and practices on promoting a green transition for the textile and garment sector in China.
Participants from the private and public sector provided very positive feedback to the discussion with efficient moderation, high-quality speeches and presentations, and well-organized flexible structure. They found it a “real discussion" which broadened their horizons and showed interest in continued engagement in relevant following dialogues and activities. As the first dialogue under the online ‘Just Transition in the Textile and Garment Sector in Asia’ Discussion series, the China dialogue served as a feedback facility to reflect different stakeholders’ perspectives and enhanced multi-stakeholder cooperation and partnership in jump-starting a green recovery for the textile and garment sector in China and beyond.
This dialogue will be followed by further activities with CNTAC as part of international cooperation for a Just Transition of the garment sector in China and Chinese enterprises in other Asian countries.
Annex:
PAGE China_CN + Final Agenda Just Transition in Textile Sector China
Dr Cristina Martinez martinezc@ilo.org
Mr QIAN Chengchen chengchen.qian@un.org
Dr Samantha Sharpe Samantha.sharpe@uts.edu.au
Ms PEI Hongye pei@iloguest.org
In its first year of implementation, the PAGE program in Argentina is contributing to policymaking and practice, aiding in the development of two special boards established in the National Cabinet of Ministers for Climate Change within the Ministry of Labor. The "Green Jobs and Just Transition Board," announced on 21 September, and the “Sustainable Production Board” are envisioned to provide a high-level policy anchor for the PAGE program in Argentina, enabling Green Economy issues promoted by PAGE to be officially captured by a central policy-making mechanism.
PAGE has also participated in the development of two special inter-ministerial agreements in 2020, one between the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Environment for the promotion of youth green employment, and another between the Ministry of Labor and the Matanza Riachuelo (ACUMAR) River Basin Authority to promote green jobs in the industrial area through professional skills development.
Argentina’s transition to an inclusive green economy has been facilitated most recently by the approval of three laws on 18 November: the so-called ‘wealth tax’ law for the exceptional solidarity fee on extreme personal wealth assets, which will, among other aspects of green recovery issues, provide a special fund for fostering locally and organically produced food, a law to prevent commercial development of fire-destroyed land, as well as the ‘Yolanda Law,’ which requires those who work in public office to receive training on green issues and the environment.
PAGE Argentina’s momentum will continue in coming months, with plans to provide input on the Labour market impacts of sector reforms for the submission of the Nationally Determined Contribution, highlighting the mandate of the Silesia Declaration, Just Transition and Decent Work agenda. This support will be deepened in 2021 through Green Recovery planning that aims at providing socio-economic scenarios, industrial conversion plans and labour adaptation plans to the Cabinet of Ministers on Climate Change. Additionally, a High-Level National Dialogue on Green Economy is planned for 15 December, to be followed by technical dialogues by PAMPA 2030 and Global Compact.
Following the creation of the University Alliance for Green Economy and Sustainable Development (AVZUR) in 2019, led by the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), PAGE has worked with AVZUR to integrate green economy learning into the curricula of various university degrees - building the capacities of current and future decision-makers and ensuring the sustainability of PAGE interventions. UNITAR has committed to support the development of courses including Economics of Climate Change in Central Asia (OSCE Academy); Green and Sustainable Finance (International Alatoo University); Agriculture and Green Growth (Kyrgyz National Agrarian University); Green Economy and International Trade (AUCA); and Introduction to Green Economy (Kyrgyz Economic University).
To further spread awareness of green economy in Kyrgzstan, AVZUR, with support from UNITAR are holding a competition among youth to create projects that highlight issues of a green economy in Kyrgyzstan and seek to increase general knowledge on sustainability through innovative uses of media. The programme will run from October 2020 - March 2021 and submissions will be judged on criteria including the novelty of the project, creativity and presentation of information and the long-term sustainability of the project.
Click here more information on the contest.
PAGE Mato Grosso (Brazil) has completed an analysis of state, national and international experiences on sustainable construction, with the results delivered to a meeting with the Secretariat of Cities. The meeting highlighted local practices, informing on sub-national standards for sustainable construction, and conversations with the Legislative Assembly regarding policy development for sustainable construction followed.
This follows work from 2019 in which master plans were developed in the Municipality of Salto do Céu, Brazil. PAGE engaged in the elaboration of a Methodology and Guidelines for the Implementation of the Participatory Municipal Development Master Plans in 2019 — to be used by the 106 municipalities in Mato Grosso. In April 2019, the municipality Salto do Céu region was selected to launch a pilot project to implement the Master Plan using the new methodology and guidelines. The Methodology and Guidelines will serve to guide the development and planning of the Master Plans in a sustainable manner in accordance with the SDGs and the UN New Urban Agenda. The municipality SINOP recently met with PAGE, expressing interest in using the methodology to develop the master plans.
Following the successful selection of five countries to receive targeted green recovery funds in November, PAGE has received additional applications from 9 partner countries. These additional program proposals have been submitted from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso, Mauritius, Indonesia, Ghana, Barbados, the Kyrgyz Republic and Uruguay.
Themes within these proposals include policy assessments for fiscal support to green businesses; assessing and developing policy strategies to support sustainable consumption and production practices; green economy educational development and awareness-raising among youth; and technical support to create enabling environments for high potential SMEs in the sustainable agro-processing industry.
Funding support for green recovery through PAGE was first announced in June at the High Level Political Forum, as a further contribution from long-time PAGE partner, Germany, through the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
The process for developing these proposals has engaged across five UN agencies along with UN Resident Coordinators and government ministries. All proposals have been developed with country-specific needs at the forefront, targeting actions that will fuel green and inclusive recoveries from the impacts of COVID-19.
PAGE Partner Countries, South Africa and Argentina, joined the GGKP-led webinar Green Jobs and a Just Transition: Country Perspectives on 18 November to present their respective experiences, best practices and national strategies for overcoming challenges in working towards just and green development.
Offering particular insights on green economic recovery potential, this is the third edition of a five-part GGKP webinar series, under the project Green Economy Transformation: Synergies between Low-carbon Pathways and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI), in cooperation with PAGE running from 2018 to 2021.
With representation from Mactavish Makwarela, Director of Mitigation, South Africa's Department of Climate, Change, Air Quality and Sustainable Development and Rodrigo Rodriguez Tornquist, Secretary of Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Innovation, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Argentina, the webinar south to address topics such as: the importance of green jobs in national recovery strategies; what sectors are leading in green jobs creation; and how governments can support workers during a green transition.
The first webinar in the series, We're Here to Help: Free policy advisory services for a greener economy (May 2019), introduced free-of-charge advisory services for policymakers, policy advisors, and supporting institutions to aid the transition to an inclusive green economy.
The second webinar, Measuring What Matters: A new methodology for collecting and reporting data on fossil fuel subsidies (October 2019), presented a methodology for measuring fossil fuel subsidies in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and providing practical guidance to governments for collecting and reporting data on fossil fuel subsidies.
While Mongolia joined PAGE in 2013 and graduated in 2018, it remains a key member of the PAGE family, most recently committing to a green recovery with a proposal for support through PAGE's Green Recovery Funds.
Throughout the course of the partnership, there have been a number of achievements in Mongolia, including the integration of IGE goals and targets into national economic and development planning; sectoral and thematic reforms in green buildings and construction, green finance, waste management and sustainable procurement; and strengthened institutional capacity of government institutions, the media, universities, research institutes and businesses. Building on this foundation, the new proposal includes national targeting for growth in the eco-tourism sector, in order to serve livelihoods among those hardest hit by COVID-19 impacts, such as rural communities.
The development of this proposal engaged the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, PAGE Agencies and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, Tapan Mishra. Continue reading for Mishra's perspective on the plans for green recovery in the country.
The development of this proposal engaged the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, PAGE Agencies and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, Tapan Mishra. Continue reading for Mishra's perspective on the plans for green recovery in Mongolia.
Referencing the latest available data, all PAGE countries (where data is available) will see an increase in unemployment rates compared to 2019. And in more detail, the highest unemployment rates are projected to be in South Africa (36.99%), Barbados (14.85%), Brazil (13.37%), Morocco (12.50%), and Peru (12.47%).
Current projections show the greatest percentage increase in unemployment are expected to be in Mauritius — there, the unemployment rate is likely to increase from 6.70% in 2019 to 21% in 2020, resulting in a 213.43% increase in the unemployment rate.
Among other PAGE countries, Peru (88%), Kazakhstan (62.77%), Indonesia (51.52%), Barbados (43.41%) and South Africa (28.88%) will also see high jumps in unemployment.
However, projections for 2021 show some positivity: Unemployment rates are projected to decrease next year, as economies gradually recover. According to the latest IMF projections (October 2020), Mauritius (-47.62%), Peru (-29.69%), Kazakhstan (-25.71%), Indonesia (-15%), and Barbados (-13.82%) unemployment rates will go down with rather high percentage decreases.Unsurprisingly, the latest IMF projections also show that all PAGE Countries are expected to have a decrease in their real annual GDP growth in 2020. Countries that stand to face the highest impact to their GDPs include Mauritius, Peru, India, Kyrgyz Republic, Morocco, Thailand and South Africa.
As we continue to track health data, Argentina (287 cases), Brazil (72 cases), and Peru (66 cases) currently are seeing the highest number of daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases among PAGE partner countries.
The latest data collection and tracking has been referenced from the IMF World Economic Outlook Database: October 2020 Edition
First launched in 2019, the second edition of the “Uruguay Circular — Towards a new economy” awards was held on October 28th. The first of its kind in Latin America, the programme recognizes achievements across areas such as the use of renewable energies and materials, reuse and repair and improving product efficiency among others.
The awards are a collaborative effort between the PAGE Uruguay Program Management Committee, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM) together with the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (UNIDO) and the National Development Agency (ANDE).
Beyond giving visibility and recognition to companies, entrepreneurs, communities and educational institutions who are making advances in circular economy, Uruguay Circular supports events and learning throughout the year on topics such as eco-design, repair, reuse, and rental markets.
The programme aligns with the ambitions of Uruguay to develop circular economy in the country, particularly within the framework of its sustainable development plan. And, on the high-level, the National Circular Economy Action Plan was launched in September 2019 by Transforma Uruguay — the National System of Productive Transformation and Competitiveness, which was created in 2016 with the purpose of promoting productive innovation and economic development. The Plan also promotes research and innovation and knowledge of business models, identifies early activities, and encourages practices based on its principles.
In 2017, after consultations between PAGE Peru, the Ministry of the Environment of Peru (MINAM) and various economic sectors, the EU-financed project “Inclusive Green Economy Policymaking for SDGs: from Implementation to Evaluation” was set in motion, with co-financing from PAGE. UNEP’s Integrated Green Economy Modelling (IGEM) Framework was used to simulate the increase in energy efficiency over periods of time and support the objectives and integration of National Determined Contributions (NDC) in Peru.
The IGEM links a Computable General Equilibrium Model and T21 modelling, allowing for more comprehensive environmental analysis. By linking these modelling exercises, the advantages and strengths of each can compensate for their individual limitations.
A series of workshops were conducted to develop modelling capabilities in the country and in 2019, energy efficiency policies were modelled with the IGEM for green manufacturing and green services.
Following these exercises, Peru has reinforced and integrated inclusive green economy (IGE) goals and targets into NDCs and SDG-aligned national economic and development planning through multi-stakeholder collaboration.
PAGE Peru held a webinar on 13 October to celebrate the culmination of the country’s five-year engagement within the Partnership, 2014-2019. The event saw representation from the UN Resident Coordinator in Peru, the ILO Director in Lima, four national ministries, the PAGE Secretariat and all PAGE agencies. Among discussions of successes in the country, sustainability plans for the phase-out process were also presented — including the ongoing application of PAGE’s Integrated Green Economy modelling (IGEM) tool for assessing NDC policy in Peru, supported by the European Commission.
“What gives me peace of mind at this moment is knowing about the enormous amount of work that already exists; and while I was listening, I was thinking how this could be linked to this framework (UN framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19) that has been entrusted to us — all over the world."
"For me, looking at my colleagues from the UNDP, UNIDO, ILO, etc. here, all of them well-connected with each of the ministries is a source of great satisfaction... I have seen here a relationship of trust, work, and respect between the professionals of the ministries and my UN colleagues. It is a great baseline to move forward.”
— UN Resident Coordinator in Peru, Igor Garafuli
READ MORE about the Integrated Green Economy Modelling in Peru
Recording here (Spanish).
Recording code: &7x%D?W&
Thanks to a strong partnership and support from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany, PAGE is announcing the first wave of green recovery funds for five partner countries — Senegal, Argentina, South Africa, Brazil (Mato Grosso) and Thailand. With funding support first announced in July at the High Level Political Forum, PAGE has since engaged across its five UN agencies along with UN Resident Coordinators and government ministries to develop country-specific proposals for additional support — with all proposals targeting actions that will fuel green and inclusive recoveries from the impacts of COVID-19. Thanks to this coordinated effort, these targeted green recovery funds will be disbursed by the end of the year.
After conducting a rapid Needs Assessment Survey and tracking impacts in a Data Observatory of its 20 partner countries, PAGE has been able to assist in identifying areas where support for green recovery would be most impactful.
Through wide engagement on the country-level, this additional PAGE support mechanism will be aiding efforts led by and embedded within each country context — being both demand-driven and tactical for maximum effect. With this, PAGE is answering the call to be a catalyst for green recovery at the global level: named within “A UN framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19” to support the development of green stimulus packages (p 18).
PAGE partner countries Senegal, Argentina, South Africa, Brazil (Mato Grosso) and Thailand are among the first countries to submit proposals. These proposed efforts for green economic recovery include key themes across waste management, support to Small and Medium Enterprises, youth entrepreneurship, circular economy, sustainable finance for Family Agriculture and green jobs policy development. Reinforcing the PAGE approach, each proposal is unique in nature, addressing country needs and driven from within. Over the coming weeks, these workplans will be further developed so the programmes can be set in motion quickly.
Proposals have all had to meet standard guidelines to safeguard the success and ensure these are truly inter-agency and demand-driven, complementing ongoing country efforts on economic recovery and developed in collaboration with UNRC offices and government ministries.
Nine PAGE countries are participating in a new centralized hub for information on planned climate and environmental policies and actions in the context of COVID-19 recovery. Launched in September, the Online Platform for Sustainable and Resilient Recovery from COVID-19 (“ Platform for Redesign 2020 ”) is under the leadership of the Ministry of the Environment Japan with support from the UNFCCC, and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES ). The countries participating from PAGE include Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Thailand and Peru. Country pages include response, recovery, and redesign measures across sectors while a September 3rd Ministerial Meeting offered a platform for live exchange.
The ILO estimates that the transition to green economies and acting to limit greenhouse gas emissions could create 24 million jobs by 2030 and lift tens of millions out of poverty. Here are two new resources to support green job growth through ITC-ILO :
Fostering Green Business Growth: What works and what doesn't in supporting green business development? Join this course to learn about green business growth strategies. 19–30 October 2020 (Application deadline: 16 October)
Greening with Jobs Learning Forum: Targeting professionals involved in designing and implementing local, sectoral, national and global strategies, this online forum is an opportunity to learn from world leading experts and engage with practitioners on how to harness the transformative potential of the green economy. 16 November - 13 December 2020 (Application deadline: 31 October)