Working and discussion papersJuly 2020Ipek Gencsu, Avery Parsons Grayson and Nathaniel Mason with Marta ForestiWorkers clean heliostats at the Ivanpah Solar Project, California, USA. Photo: Dennis Schroeder/NRELThe low-carbon transition will require adapting and changing existing sectors and industries, creating new occupations requiring new skills, even as others become obsolete.This paper argues that the low-carbon transition must, as part of the labour market solution, consider migration in all its forms – both domestic and international, short- and long-term, of people with different skill levels, and in all directions between and within countries at all levels of economic development. The paper makes the case that migration can contribute to efforts to mitigate climate change, and shows how policy and practice communities can collaborate to enable migration to support the transition to low-carbon economies.Key messagesThe shift to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies must urgently accelerate. It necessitates the emergence of new sectors and technologies, which in turn requires the adaptation of existing sectors and industries, as well as new occupations, skills and expertise.Migration of workers both within and between countries can offer a way to adaptively manage the labour market needs of the transition – alongside appropriate skills development for those in situ, including workers in displaced, high-emissions industries.To allow this, there is a need for those working on the low-carbon transition, migration and skills development and labour markets to collaboratively address three practical and political challenges: anticipating needs, (re)skilling, and facilitating mobility.Read the research Migration and skills for the low‑carbon transitionDocumentpdfRelated Migration as opportunity: innovation, policies and practiceA discussion of the different types of programmatic and policy interventions that can maximise migration’s socioeconomic benefits.Working and discussion papers17 July 2020 The fiscal impact of immigration: a review of the evidence A review of the empirical evidence on the fiscal impact of immigration.Working and discussion papers20 April 2020 Enabling a just transition to a low-carbon economy in the energy sectorThis report highlights key considerations for planning a just transition process in the energy sector.Briefing papers14 December 2018See more:migration and refugeesjobs and livelihoodsclimate changeeconomic policyGlobal
