5 - Benefiting the Poor, the Environment, and the Private Sector with Small Enterprises and Green Jobs in the People's Republic of China

Summary

China is shifting its development policy towards creating a low- carbon economy and a more equitable society, departing from the rapid economic growth policy started by Deng Xiaoping three decades ago. Drastic changes in production and consumption are required to make development responsive to climate change and environmental degradation. Environmental protection and a transition to a low-carbon economy are imperatives with no leeway for China. In the coming decades, government departments will have to adopt new laws and regulations that guide changes in industry and the lives of the Chinese people. Efforts have been made in many companies to make their production processes and services greener. Green enterprises already exist and their number is increasing.

However, are the poor left behind in the transition process? Green jobs can benefit the environment as well as the worker. As most of the poor who are employed work for micro and small enterprises, it is critical to promote micro and small enterprises in a green economy, if the greening process is to be pro-poor. Also, it is likely that small businesses could provide green products and services for the poor and contribute to the local economic development. Green small enterprises would be promoted effectively if the economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainable development are integrated.

It is a crucial concern of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to make the transition to a green economy by ensuring that the new jobs created in green enterprises are decent and socially acceptable. For the last two years, the ILO has been introducing the concept of green jobs to its three constituents — government, worker, and employer organizations — in China, and alerting them to the changes that will be coming in the world of work. At the same time, the ILO has tried to create new employment opportunities in emerging green industries. The ILO has been promoting the Green Jobs Initiative, which supports the process of a just transition for the workers who are affected by the ongoing changes in the green economy.