2025 Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report
Delivering a
Just Transition:
Advancing Decent Work, Gender Equality and Social Protection
Currently, none of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track to be achieved in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030 and alarmingly, progress on climate action (Goal 13) has regressed. A transition to more sustainable (green and blue) economies is urgently needed to ensure resilience and prosperity across the region. Despite the economic and environmental benefits of the ongoing transition, there will be significant workforce and livelihood disruptions to be overcome. This necessitates a just transition that leaves no one behind.
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This report analyses the workforce dynamics of the green and blue transition in the region. It highlights gaps and disparities in workforce preparedness and offers solutions that promote inclusive skills development, health and wellbeing of the workforce, and gender equality. The report also presents key catalysts, or so-called enablers, for making a just transition happen. It also provides recommendations for governments on how to navigate a just transition to green and blue economies.
Key takeaways
Asia and the Pacific’s transition to green and blue economies will mitigate climate change impacts and generate millions of new jobs, but it will also bring about livelihood disruptions and workforce challenges. Skills gaps, gender disparities, widespread informality, limited social protection and unequal access to health services leave millions of the region’s workers unprepared for the transition, risking deepened inequalities.
A just transition, that is as fair and inclusive as possible, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no-one behind, is essential to deliver environmental sustainability, improve livelihoods and reduce inequalities in the region. To achieve this, targeted solutions must be in place to promote inclusive workforce development, transition-ready social protection systems and gender equality.
Critical enablers for a just transition include policy coherence and coordination, harnessing digitalization and technological innovations, financing, strengthening social dialogue and partnerships, and overcoming biased social norms for gender equality.
Just transition of the workforce in Asia-Pacific
• Renewable energy • Waste management
• Green transportation • Sustainable agriculture and fisheries • Coastal tourism
• Workforce and skills development • Transition ready social protection • Gender equality
• Policy development, coherence, and coordination
• Harnessing digitalisation and technological innovation
• Financing • Strengthening social dialogue and partnerships
• Overcoming biased social norms for gender equality
Setting the scene
Impacts of the green and blue transition in Asia and the Pacific
The transition to green and blue economies in Asia and the Pacific has the potential to create an estimated 180 million new and decent jobs by 2050. However, managing displacement in conventional industries is essential to addressing uneven impacts and ensuring the transition is just. The region’s ability to deliver this depends on its workforce, which must be equipped to adapt to the significant changes in employment currently underway.
Implications of the green and blue transition on workforce dynamics in key sectors
The potential for the transition to drive job creation across the region spans multiple sectors, each of which presents unique challenges and opportunities.
Renewable energy
The renewable energy sector is a major driver of job growth in Asia and the Pacific, with the region leading in global renewable energy employment.
The current employment distribution in the renewable energy sector points to strengths and opportunities in countries and broader subregions, and job quality in the sector varies significantly.
10.5 million
jobs in renewable energy in Asia and the Pacific in 2023
65%
of the sector's jobs worldwide are in the region
Distribution of renewable energy jobs by type in Asia and the Pacific, 2023
Source: Authors using IRENA (2024). Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2024.
Waste management
Asia and the Pacific contributes significantly to the world’s waste production, and the region’s waste management practices remain underdeveloped and largely informal, revealing substantial untapped potential.
Investments in infrastructure and skills development for the circular economy are essential to fostering decent formal employment in waste collection and recycling, while reducing environmental degradation.
800 million
metric tonnes of waste are produced annually in Asia and the Pacific (40% of the global total)
Total regional waste generation, 2022
Source: Authors using data from World Bank (2022).
Green transportation
Private and commercial vehicle electrification holds opportunities for the workforce, with China leading globally. Public transport electrification also has potential. For example, since 2002, the Delhi Metro has directly employed over 14,000 people.
However, stark gender disparities and a high prevalence of informal work persist in the sector.
Over 115 million
people are employed in the region’s transport sector
Employment in transportation by sex, Asia and the Pacific, 2015 and 2022
Source: ILO modelled estimates retrieved from ILOSTAT.
Sustainable agriculture
The agricultural sector in Asia and the Pacific faces significant disruptions due to ongoing economic and environmental changes. A transition to sustainable agriculture is underway, but this cannot fully absorb the existing agricultural workforce.
Agricultural employment in the region is characterised by high levels of informality, seasonal employment and irregular earnings. Women comprise over half of the agricultural workforce but face barriers to land ownership, skills training, and access to finance.
592 million
people employed in agriculture in Asia and the Pacific in 2023 (30% of region’s workforce)
~2.2%(or up to 13 million)
of these jobs will be lost by 2030
Agricultural employment share (%) by country and regional averages in Asia and the Pacific, most recent year available
Source: Authors using various labour force surveys.
Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Environmental degradation and overexploitation of fish stocks pose significant risks to the sector’s workforce, underscoring an urgent need for sustainable management practices to protect ecosystems and livelihoods.
Transitioning to sustainable practices, including enhanced aquaculture and marine resource management, offers the opportunity to balance job creation with ecosystem preservation.
The region is home to85%
of the world's fishers and fish farmers
52.7 million
people supported by fish capture and aquaculture
Employment in fishing and aquaculture in selected countries, circa 2015 and 2023
Source: Authors using various labour force surveys.
Coastal tourism
Tourism accounts for a significant share of total employment in countries across the region, particularly in the Pacific. While official data typically record total tourism jobs, coastal tourism plays a key role in the tourism sectors of the region’s economies.
Projections suggest that, with sustainable management, the economic output of coastal tourism could double by 2030. However, currently many jobs in the sector are informal and seasonal, poorly paid, and lack social protection entitlements.
Tourism employment and shares in Asia and the Pacific: Major economies and small island States (2024)
Source: Authors using various labour force surveys.
Workforce preparedness for the green and blue transition
Although significant opportunities for employment generation exist, emerging green jobs are not equally accessible to all. There are major disparities in workforce preparedness for transition in and across the region’s countries, with persisting challenges related to skills gaps, gender disparities, informality, gaps in social protection coverage and barriers to accessing health services.
Skills development
A critical skills gap exists in technical and general skills. In particular, there are wide disparities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) qualifications and a digital divide that disproportionately disadvantages women. Higher income countries in the region have a higher share of high-skilled workers in key transitional sectors and better infrastructure, whereas lower income countries face significant labour market challenges due to their heavy reliance on low- and middle-skilled workers in these sectors.
Workforce skill composition by key sector in selected countries of Asia and the Pacific: Percentage distribution by occupational skill level, circa 2023
Source: Authors using various labour force surveys (Circa 2023).
Gender disparities in the workforce
Gender-biased social norms limit women’s participation in the labour force, including in key transitional sectors. This restricts women’s ability to fully contribute economically and benefit from emerging opportunities in the labour market. Tackling these systemic challenges is critical for a just transition.
Women’s employment share in key transitional sectors by selected country and income level in Asia and the Pacific (most recent data available)
Source: Authors using various labour force surveys (circa 2023).
Informal employment
One of the most pressing challenges in the Asia–Pacific region for a just transition is the prevalence of informal employment. In 2023, some 65.5% of the region’s workforce was employed in the informal sector. This means that most workers are without protection against economic and social risks.
Informal employment rate in Asia and the Pacific and by subregion, overall and by sex, 2023
Source: ILO modelled estimates, retrieved from ILOSTAT
Social protection
Comprehensive social protection is key to ensuring that the workforce can transition to new jobs and plays a critical role in reducing risks for workers displaced by the green and blue transition. On average, 55% of the region’s population is covered by at least one social protection benefit, with notable variations between countries. These gaps and disparities underscore the uneven readiness of the region’s social protection systems to support a just transition.
Proportion of the population covered by at least one social protection benefit (excluding healthcare), latest available year
Source: ILO estimate, 2024; World Social Protection Database.
Access to health services
Inclusive access to affordable, quality health services is key to ensuring a healthy and secure workforce that can navigate the blue and green transition. With around two thirds of the region’s population covered by some form of social health protection scheme, the region is off track in achieving universal health coverage (UHC). According to the World Health Organization’s UHC Service Coverage Index, the average index score for the Asia-Pacific region was 69 out of 100 in 2021, with notable differences between countries.
UHC Service Coverage Index by country in Asia and the Pacific, 2021
Source: WHO (2024). UHC Service Coverage Index.
Solutions for a just transition to green and blue economies
In the Asia-Pacific region there are numerous examples of successful approaches to a just transition towards green and blue economies, which prioritize workforce development, transition-ready social protection and gender equality.
Workforce development for the transition
Reporting and addressing workforce needs through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs)
The NCCP aims to increase awareness and understanding of climate change-related issues across all economic sectors and at all levels of government in Fiji. The policy integrates climate change into schools’ curricula, tertiary courses, and non-formal education and training programmes.
Under the NCCP, Fiji plans to review and update vocational education courses to ensure the inclusion of local, accurate and current climate change information, and to encourage climate-related research by students, subject to review by the Curriculum Development Unit.
The Fiji National Climate Change Policy (NCCP)
Through the plan a roadmap for skills, decent work and a just transition has been developed. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, a government agency, has a mandate to plan and implement regulations for skills training, register programs and qualification assessments and certifications.
Moreover, the Philippines’ NDC Gender Action Plan highlights the implementation of gender responsive NDC policies and measures for Filipino women, men, and LGBT+ persons.
The Philippine National Green Jobs Human Resource Development Plan 2020-2030
Public-private collaborations for skills anticipation and planning
Established by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the committee convenes over 20 representatives from government, industry, trade and employers’ associations, unions, academia and professional bodies to guide strategies for green skills development.
Its activities include mapping skills needs and identifying pathways to skills development. Under the committee, two sub-workgroups are in place, focusing on clean energy, and sustainability reporting and assurance, respectively.
The Green Skills Committee of Singapore
A Thailand-Japanese industry partnership – the Automotive Human Resource Development Institute Programme – was established to support Thailand’s shift to electric vehicle production.
The partnership has adopted innovative training methods using augmented and virtual reality. Some 1,300 workers have been trained in advanced skills, with a focus on ensuring inclusive skills development in the automotive sector.
Green skills development in the automotive industry in Thailand
Implementing training and green skills development through formal education systems and on-the job training
The project, led by the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for TVET works with institutions in the region to implement skills upgrading for the tourism sector. For example, through the programme, an education institution in Cambodia developed an EcoCampus programme to address growing sustainability needs in hospitality and tourism.
The EcoCampus initiative focuses on biodiversity, global citizenship, resource management, waste reduction and sustainable supply chains, combining theoretical learning and practical workplace experience in the hospitality sector.
Bridging innovation and learning in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
The Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the UNDP M4C Project, implements hands on skills development for MSMEs in rural communities in Fiji. The project provides training for market vendors on how to add value to their agricultural produce and identify relevant market opportunities.
Women market vendors, for example, gained skills in processing breadfruit, plantain, and root crops into alternative wheat flour, while learning about food product processing steps, compliance requirements and cooperative models.
Markets for Change (M4C) Project, Fiji
Transition-ready social protection for workforce health and well-being
Social protection to mitigate impacts of the green and blue transition on the workforce
The programme compensated crew members of commercial fishing vessels in the Philippines who lost income during a fishing ban imposed to tackle declining fish stocks.
The fishers received 75% of the regional minimum wage in exchange for carrying out work related to environmental protection, such as waste sorting, and cleaning up beaches, canals, and public markets.
The Philippines Barangay Bay Environmental Cash-for-Work programme
China’s logging bans and forestry conservation efforts, aimed at mitigating climate and biodiversity impacts, affected nearly one million workers.
To address the impacts, the government provided job training and placement services for workers who lost their jobs in state-owned forest enterprises. Rice subsidies and cash transfers were also made available to impacted informal workers in the sector.
China’s efforts to mitigate the impact of logging bans and forestry conservation
Collective bargaining, social dialogue and legal recognition of informal workers
The act, passed in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, is a first-of-its kind social security law that targets fast-growing gig economy. It establishes a welfare board and a dedicated social security fund for platform-based gig workers in the state.
The measures under the act will be financed by a levy of 1-2% on each platform-based transaction.
India’s Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023
The Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA) is a union representing thousands of informal workers, including street vendors, taxi drivers and tuk-tuk drivers.
It advocates for workers’ rights to social protection benefits and assists workers in accessing the National Social Security Fund’s ID card for free health care.
Cambodia’s Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association
National plans on climate change with a health component
Pacific Island Countries are highly vulnerable to impacts from climate change and are on the frontline of the transition to blue and green economies. The climate impacts adversely affect the resilience of their health systems.
The Action Plan on Climate Change and Health aims to tackle the effects of climate change on health, improve the climate resilience and environmental sustainability of health services, and promotes the implementation of climate change mitigation actions that maximize health co-benefits.
The Action Plan on Climate Change and Health in the Pacific Islands
Viet Nam is also highly vulnerable to climate impacts. The South-East Asian country faces significant direct and indirect health impacts because of climate-related disasters ranging from increased susceptibility to infectious diseases to related mental health and well-being challenges.
To respond to these challenges, the government is implementing the Action Plan to build resilient health care facilities and enhance epidemic prevention and control measures. The plan also includes measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the health sector.
Viet Nam’s National Action Plan for the Health Sector Response to Climate Change (2019-2030, with a vision to 2050)
Gender transformative change in green and blue economies
Sector specific support for women
The EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies is a joint programme implemented by UN Women and UN Environment. In Cambodia, the program is supporting women farmers to purchase solar-powered pumps to water rice fields, replacing diesel powered pumps.
The new solar pumps are easy to maneuver and save on fuel costs. However, the upfront costs of the pumps are a challenge for women farmers, as they face challenges in accessing loans due to lack of collateral, financial history, and literacy.
EmPower initiative in Cambodia
WePower is a voluntary women’s professional network in the energy and power sector in South Asia, which supports women’s participation in energy projects and institutions and promotes normative change around women in STEM education.
The network consists of over 50 partners from power utilities, government agencies and academic institutions and has established National Chapters in Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Four regional initiatives were formed to address specific challenges in the energy and power sector.
WePOWER
Improving women’s access to finance in the green and blue transition
The UNDP project is creating investment-ready women-led projects that promote marine biodiversity conservation and accelerate reef-positive solutions to support sustainable livelihoods.
The work is financed by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the Joint Sustainable Development Goal Fund, a UN multi-partner trust fund dedicated to SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and is implemented in collaboration with governments, local communities and resource owners.
Investing in Coral Reefs and Blue Economy Project, Fiji
Funded by Climate Investment Fund (CIF), the programme is supporting women’s access to finance and economic opportunities through gender responsive financial products, gender capacity building for private sector partners, and financial literacy and business management capacity building for women entrepreneurs.
The programme has supported some 345,000 women and contributed to a shift in gender norms and increased recognition for women entrepreneurs. Moreover, the programme engages men, women’s groups, and local organisations such as the National Association of BusinessWomen of Tajikistan (NABWT) to help increase women’s uptake of climate resilient technologies.
Tajikistan’s pilot programme for climate resilience
Key enablers for operationalising a just transition
While good practices exist in the region, countries face multiple barriers to shifting towards more sustainable economies. There are a range of enablers that governments can consider putting in place to accelerate a just transition to green and blue economies.
Policy development, coherence and coordination
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A just transition calls for advanced and integrated policy development across multiple jurisdictions, aligning social protection, reskilling programmes and economic diversification initiatives across all levels of government.
To achieve targets set out in climate policies and plans, coordination among sectoral ministries is critical. Building capacity in public sector leadership, including change management and collaboration, as well as gender mainstreaming, will also be key to success.
Harnessing digitalization and technological innovation
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Digital innovation and technologies can enable more complex and timely data collection and improved service delivery. This requires good quality data and analysis to ensure effective, inclusive and gender-responsive decision-making.
Tackling the digital gender divide and rural-urban disparities are also critical to a just transition. This requires stepping up public and private investment in digital infrastructure and inclusive digital skills development.
Financing
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Achieving a just transition requires a mindset shift towards financing that puts people and the planet centre stage, and additional financing for investments in infrastructure, social protection, service provision, and training and skills development.
The sizes, type and availability of these financial flows hinge on many factors. These include the direction of government policy, the capacity of policymakers and other relevant actors in designing and implementing financing, and the inclusiveness, responsiveness and flexibility of financing mechanisms.
Strengthening social dialogue and partnerships
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The scale and complexity of workforce development for the transition requires strong and inclusive social dialogue that includes those that are typically underrepresented in decision making processes.
International cooperation and partnerships are also critical, not only because economies are interlinked but also because developing countries have a right to support for their transition. Success hinges on the quality of relationships, and on how well responsibility, accountability and resources are shared.
Overcoming biased social norms for gender equality
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Achieving gender equality requires transforming social norms and practices that impede women’s full and equal participation in the economy, including in green and blue sectors. Progress in addressing gender biases must be measured through specific targets and outcomes.
This must be supported by gender-responsive skills development, career progression, entrepreneurship and leadership, alongside increased access to and ownership of resources. This is not only an imperative to advance gender equality, but also key to ensure the quality and speed of a just transition.
Recommendations
Achieving a just transition to green and blue economies that delivers environmental sustainability—while improving people’s livelihoods and reducing inequalities—requires concerted action. The high social and environmental costs of inaction makes implementing the recommendations outlined in this section vital for the region’s future. Success will require sustained political will, adequate financing, and effective coordination among stakeholders.
Workforce development
Comprehensive just transition frameworks that integrate climate action, workforce development, social protection and gender equality are needed.
Governments must establish clear mandates for workforce planning with mechanisms to identify skills gaps and resource development programmes. This includes capacity building for anticipating workforce development needs; integrating workforce development planning into national and sub-national plans, and large public infrastructure investments; scaling up inclusive education and training systems; and strengthening active employment polices to integrate vulnerable groups into the labour market.
Education systems must change to meet the scale and pace of transition needs.
In practice this means, among other measures, updating curricula to include technical and transformational skills, increasing teaching capacity, and investing in inclusive facilities and digital technologies. Government and educational institutions should lead on curriculum development and accreditation processes. Businesses must take a more active role in workforce development, including direct investments in training and contributions to skills development systems. Targeted support is needed for small and medium enterprises that lack resources.
Transition-ready social protection
Opportunities are needed for expanded social protection systems to support and accelerate the green and blue transition.
To achieve this, governments must commit to set an ambitious agenda for social protection investment. This requires initiating the necessary tax and other policy reforms to strengthen the resource base for social protection expenditures, such as phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and exploring progressive taxation.
A just transition requires large and immediate social investments.
International organisations and Multilateral Development Banks can provide countries with the technical support needed to build government capabilities for navigating complex transitions, as well as assistance in new areas of policy development. This includes support for social protection investments in financing activities, advocating for climate finance mechanisms that provide accessible and adequate funding, and supporting better integration of workforce development and social protection.
Gender-transformative change
A whole-of-government focus on gender equality is needed to integrate gender equality issues into all government strategies and plans.
This requires explicit reference, follow-up actions and dedicated resources for gender equality to be specified in NDCs and NAPs; gender-responsive budgeting and prioritization of gender equality objectives in public funding; increased gender-responsive climate finance; increased representation and inclusion of women in decision-making and social dialogues that inform just transition planning; and enhanced data collection.
Investing in the care economy is critical for a gender-responsive just transition.
This can be achieved by prioritizing investments in quality care jobs, services and infrastructure. Efforts to support this include measuring the effects of the transition on care workloads; strengthened social protection for caregivers; expanded provision of green and low-emission infrastructure that is critical for care; policies to promote decent care jobs; and participation of women in climate-related decision making to promote the recognition of care-related issues.
2025 Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report
Delivering a Just Transition:
Advancing Decent Work, Gender Equality and Social Protection
Published by the Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership
Copyright© 2025 United Nations, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme
