Ensuring access to decent work in the context of climate displacement is an essential element of supporting a ‘just transition’. Emerging practices from across the world suggest how climate action and labour strategies can reinforce each other.

In the context of climate-related displacement, it is critical to apply a ‘just transition’ lens – which places decent work and social justice at the core of responses to climate change.[1] This enables people to adapt and sustain livelihoods where they are, to protect themselves during displacement and to rebuild productive lives after relocation. When access to decent work is disrupted, this foundation weakens, eroding adaptive capacity and resilience. The risks are most acute in low- and middle-income countries, which accounted for three-quarters of disaster displacements in 2024 and where high unemployment, widespread informality and limited social protection systems expose displaced populations to risks of extreme poverty and exploitative forms of work.[2]

Rural economies are disproportionately exposed to climate change: farming, fishing and herding communities that were once self-sustaining are displaced into camps or cities where livelihood alternatives are scarce. In Bangladesh and India, salinisation driven by sea level rise and unsustainable land use has become a major factor reducing agricultural productivity in coastal regions. This has forced households into urban labour markets, where their skills often do not match economic demand. In Latin America and the Caribbean, many Indigenous Peoples moving to urban areas face limited recognition of their traditional knowledge and skills, resulting in high dependence on informal jobs. In East Africa, recurrent droughts have displaced pastoralists in Kenya and Ethiopia, many of whom end up in precarious casual labour.

Displacement also places additional strains on host communities already facing environmental and economic challenges, amplifying competition over jobs and resources that can threaten social cohesion. The uncertainty surrounding return to disaster-affected areas raises critical questions about long-term labour market integration, particularly in regions where rising seas threaten territorial integrity or prolonged drought renders entire areas of origin uninhabitable.

These dynamics underscore the need for effective implementation of integrated, rights-based strategies that place decent work and just transition principles at their centre. This article offers reflections on the intersections between climate and labour policies. It outlines key entry points for building adaptive capacity, mitigating the risks of involuntary migration and immobility, and expanding opportunities for displaced populations and those at risk of forced displacement or being trapped in place due to environmental and socioeconomic constraints. It also considers how rights-based labour mobility can serve as a household-level adaptation strategy.

Linking climate and employment agendas

Despite challenges, there is growing evidence that climate action and labour and employment strategies can reinforce each other. Emerging practice suggests three main entry points where these agendas are starting to converge:

Climate policies increasingly reference jobs and livelihoods. Some National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – which outline how countries will adapt to climate change in the medium- and long-term and set out their commitments on greenhouse gas emissions – include provisions for employment creation, livelihood diversification and social protection. In countries heavily affected by displacement, these linkages are especially important. Kenya’s NAP 2015-2030, for instance, seeks to promote livelihood diversification for vulnerable groups, including displaced persons, to reduce involuntary rural-urban migration. The Philippines’ NAP also substantially addresses how livelihoods can be safeguarded even in situations of voluntary or forced mobility.[3] Grenada’s NAP emphasises the expansion of social protection for smallholder farmers and fishers, including through insurance and risk transfer instruments. Somalia’s NDC addresses just transition and emphasises climate adaptation and resilience-building across vulnerable sectors. However, many NAP and NDC commitments remain constrained by limited targets, financing and implementation mechanisms.

National employment policies (NEPs) increasingly reference climate change, and several countries have even developed strategies dedicated to green jobs and skills for just transitions. However, most fall short of providing guidance to address the employment implications of climate-related displacement and respond to the needs of affected or at-risk workers and enterprises. Several Pacific Island states who are currently revising their NEPs will be among the first to integrate measures to maximise the job creation potential of mitigation, disaster recovery and relocation planning, alongside worker protections, including fair recruitment practices, to ensure migration contributes positively to climate adaptation.[4]

Labour mobility frameworks are recognising climate drivers. Regional instruments are emerging, such as the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility, the first of its kind to comprehensively address human mobility in the context of climate change. In Eastern Africa, the 2020 Free Movement Protocol adopted by Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) members contains provisions for entry and stay in the context of disasters (before, during and after). In the Caribbean, agreements under the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have facilitated short-term entry, documentation waivers and access to labour markets for populations displaced by hurricanes. Although full enactment and endorsement remain limited, these frameworks signal a growing recognition of labour mobility as an adaptation strategy. The UNFCCC Task Force on Displacement has produced a technical guide on integrating human mobility and climate change linkages into relevant national climate change planning.

Pathways to decent work: country experiences

Implementation of tailored strategies is needed to address different forms of climate mobility. Sudden-onset disasters may necessitate short-term emergency employment creation for rapid wage support, whereas slow-onset processes demand longer-term measures, including livelihood diversification and skills development and recognition. These strategies can benefit both displaced people and host communities, supporting their coexistence.

ILO Recommendation No. 205 on Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience provides a normative framework for employment-oriented responses to crises and disasters, including those linked to climate change. It also underscores the importance of promoting equality of opportunity and treatment for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other forcibly displaced populations.

Building on these principles, several country experiences illustrate how active labour market policies and income support can be integrated to support a just transition in contexts of climate-related displacement.[5]

Employment-intensive investment programmes (EIIPs) can generate public works that are both labour-absorbing and climate-responsive, especially as part of emergency response. In Jordan, EIIPs have employed both Jordanian nationals and Syrian refugees to rehabilitate cisterns, roads and degraded land. In Iraq’s Dohuk governorate, large-scale afforestation, irrigation improvements and solid waste and recycling facilities have also created jobs for IDPs, refugees and host communities, while also improving environmental resilience.[6]

Skills development is a cornerstone of transition, providing displaced people and host communities with the capacities needed to access decent work, including in the green economy. In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, competency-based training in different occupations, including solar panel installation, is being offered to refugees. Courses align with both the national and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Qualifications Reference Frameworks, enabling the portability of skills across borders. Recognition of prior learning is equally important to enable smoother transitions to formal labour markets, while connecting skills programmes with public employment services and job search support has been proven effective in facilitating transition into actual jobs.

Entrepreneurship promotion can foster opportunities for more sustainable livelihoods. In South Wollo, Ethiopia, a market system analysis identified opportunities for green job creation, and skills training and business creation support were provided accordingly. By promoting green entrepreneurship, these interventions aimed to strengthen community resilience and minimise the risk of displacement.

Social protection systems, including insurance schemes and cash transfers, act as buffers against shocks and help reduce reliance on negative coping strategies. For example, Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme is a national flagship initiative that has stabilised food security in drought-affected areas and reduced crisis-driven migration. Brazil’s Bolsa Floresta programme links cash transfers to sustainable natural resource management, incentivising conservation while sustaining incomes. Both illustrate how social protection can underpin just transition by cushioning against climate shocks while incentivising sustainable practices.[7] However, some challenges remain, particularly regarding the portability of benefits across borders.

In cases of planned relocation, evidence shows that livelihood restoration is often the weakest component of schemes. Integrating market assessments and livelihood mapping into site selection can improve outcomes, ensuring proximity to viable economic activities and employment services.

International labour mobility as an adaptation strategy

International labour mobility can also complement, rather than substitute for, in situ adaptation, where it is voluntary. Migration can diversify household income, generate remittances that can support sustainable investments, and contribute to climate change adaptation in destination countries where labour shortages exist in green sectors.[8]

However, the current labour migration landscape provides few options for such climate-adaptive movements. Without strong safeguards, labour mobility can lead to increased exposure to climate impacts, or expose workers to irregular pathways which do not protect their rights and heighten risks of informality, debt bondage, exploitation and unsafe living and working conditions. Seasonal or circular schemes often provide limited labour rights, including restrictions on the freedom to change employers, on access to fair wages and on social protection. As such, they may be inadequate for addressing the specific needs and vulnerability of populations displaced by climate change. [9]

Ensuring that labour mobility contributes to adaptation requires robust, rights-based governance. Countries have begun to translate this into practice in different ways. Bolivia’s 2013 migration law explicitly referenced climate migrants and called for international agreements to facilitate entry and protection abroad. Peru’s 2018 Climate Change Framework Law mandated a national plan of action to prevent and address forced migration due to climate impacts. Kiribati’s Migration with Dignity policy invested in education and vocational upskilling to enable citizens to secure jobs abroad before rising seas force displacement. Building on such national efforts, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration calls for the expansion of regular pathways for people compelled to move due to sudden- and slow-onset disasters. The bilateral Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty is an example of such a pathway enabling Tuvaluan citizens to study, work and access social protection in Australia.

Key considerations going forward

Without adequate labour and social protections, adaptation strategies, including labour mobility, can risk reinforcing vulnerability. The fundamental principles and rights at work –freedom of association and collective bargaining, elimination of forced labour, abolition of child labour, elimination of discrimination, and the right to a safe and healthy working environment – provide the minimum foundation. Other international labour standards extend protections to those most affected: the ILO Conventions on migrant workers (C97, C143), the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (C169) and the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation (No. 204) are just a few examples.

Safeguards for fair recruitment are equally critical, including zero-cost recruitment, transparent contracts and access to grievance mechanisms. The ILO Guiding Principles on Refugees’ Access to Labour Markets provide practical guidance for extending equal opportunities to displaced populations. Social dialogue with governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations also remains key to designing sustainable and inclusive labour market responses. Meaningful engagement with climate-affected individuals and respecting cultural and indigenous knowledge are also central in shaping and implementing policies and programmes that contribute to a just transition.

Climate-related displacement cannot be addressed through humanitarian measures alone; labour market and broader development responses are essential for a coherent approach consistent with the goal of averting, minimising and addressing climate-related displacement, ensuring sustainable livelihoods and decent work for all, including those who wish to remain, those who move voluntarily, those who are displaced and host populations. The task ahead is to build on emerging practices and move beyond reactive measures, scaling up and enhancing employment, skills, social protection and migration systems so that they operate in anticipatory and preventive ways, reducing the risks of forced displacement and fostering pathways to resilience.

Anne Beatrice Cinco
Junior Technical Officer on Employment Strategies, International Labour Organization
cinco@ilo.org
linkedin.com/in/beacinco

Paul Tacon
Specialist on Labour Migration, International Labour Organization
tacon@ilo.org
linkedin.com/in/paul-tacon-40649a22

Héloïse Ruaudel
Technical Specialist on Crisis Migration, International Labour Organization
ruaudel@ilo.org
linkedin.com/in/heloise-ruaudel-82459427

Alice Vozza
Policy Specialist on Just Transition, International Labour Organization
vozza@ilo.org
linkedin.com/in/alicevozza

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the ILO.

[1] International Labour Organization (2015) Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all

[2] UNHCR (2025) Global Trends: Forced displacement in 2024

[3] International Labour Organization (2025) ‘Climate change, environmental degradation and labour mobility in the ASEAN region’, Policy Brief

[4] International Labour Organization (2025) The role of fair recruitment in addressing climate mobility in the Pacific Islands region

[5] International Labour Organization (2023) ‘The role of active labour market policies for a just transition’, Policy Brief

[6] International Labour Organization (2025) Responding to Forced Displacement – Lessons from the International Labour Organization’s Engagement in the PROSPECTS Programme

[7] For more related experiences: International Labour Organization (2016) Protecting people and the environment: Lessons learnt from Brazil’s Bolsa Verde, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa and 56 other experiences

[8]International Labour Organization (2022) ‘Human mobility and labour migration related to climate change in a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all’, Policy Brief

[9] ITUC (2023) ‘Decent work at the Nexus between Climate change and Migration’, ITUC Policy Brief

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