Environmental protection and green growth have become increasingly important in the work of the OECD Development Centre. In 2015, its report Securing Livelihoods for All: Foresight for Action warned that environmental challenges were among the most pressing threats to the global progress achieved in improving livelihoods. Since then, the Development Centre has increased its effort to support strategies for greener and more inclusive growth with core advice in country-specific, regional and thematic work. Its reports, the Latin American Economic Outlook, Africa’s Development Dynamics, the Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India and the Multi-dimensional Reviews, notably include more systematic reviews of environmental and climate change issues.

Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, with historical contributions from unsustainable energy use, land use and patterns of consumption and production. The related, adverse impacts of climate change on nature and people disproportionately affect the most vulnerable among us. Globally, this concerns no less than 3.6 billion people, mostly in developing countries. In Southeast Asia, 100 million workers with jobs linked to the environment could be affected. They are also the most vulnerable: people employed in agriculture, mining or water and waste management typically gain two-thirds of the national median labour earnings. Environmentally linked employment also goes hand in hand with informality, depriving workers of labour rights and social protection. In the region, about 90% of these jobs are in the informal economy.

Southeast Asia is committed to promote environmentally sustainable economic growth. This has been demonstrated by the adoption and endorsement of an array of regional declarations and blueprints by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Since the mid-2010s, ASEAN countries have been mapping out green growth strategies. All ten member states have green growth objectives in their national development plans as of 2023. Despite these commitments, the region is not on track to achieve the sustainable development goals and is showing slow progress, even regression on environment-related goals. Environmental degradation due to the increased frequency of extreme weather events, exacerbated by deforestation and overfishing, continues unabated, threatening the working conditions and livelihoods of millions of Southeast Asians.

Southeast Asia’s remarkable economic growth has relied heavily on natural resources. Today, the region faces significant environmental challenges. Environmental degradation, pollution and biodiversity loss from deforestation, natural resource depletion and overfishing are starting to have economic and social consequences. The region is particularly vulnerable to climate change-related disasters due to the high percentages of its population living in coastal areas and having jobs that are linked to the environment. These people are often already in precarious situations.

Southeast Asia has achieved remarkable economic development over the past few decades, but its growth has relied heavily on natural resources. As the region’s natural resource endowments deplete and climate change intensifies, environment-related costs are rising. Countries in the region are beginning to integrate green growth objectives into their national development plans. Displacement and reallocation of labour will be inevitable during any transition, but Southeast Asia lacks preparedness for the near- and long-term employment disruption that will result from a green transition. This chapter introduces the concept of green growth and provides an overview of Southeast Asia’s policy frameworks for green growth, particularly from a labour perspective.

Southeast Asian economies’ heavy reliance on natural resources creates vulnerabilities for many workers and their households, with adverse effects on future growth prospects. Analysis of seven countries, representing 95% of the region’s total population, shows that workers in sectors that rely on the environment account for 37% of total employment. Workers in these “environmentally linked” sectors tend to have lower incomes, lower education and in the informal economy. Further analysis on vulnerability for Indonesia and Viet Nam shows that a large share of the labour force is vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. In this context, specific social protection instruments to shield these workers and sectors against environmental shocks appear critical.

The global implementation of emissions reduction policies is expected to affect the demand for labour and skills in different ways. The transition towards low-carbon energy will undoubtedly create winners and losers in the labour market. A simulation exercise conducted for Indonesia shows that a global energy transition would concentrate employment losses along the fossil fuel value chain, while employment gains would occur across multiple sectors such as electricity and gas, construction, and mining of metals. To mitigate the adverse social consequences of the energy transition, policy makers should provide early support before layoffs, implement social protection measures, and invest in local development for negatively affected areas.

Southeast Asia is one of the world’s major exporters of agricultural products. Agriculture is the major source of livelihoods for millions of people in the region. However, the sector faces challenges from unsustainable agricultural practices and increasing climate change-induced natural disasters. A transition to sustainable agriculture is urgently needed in order to curb soil degradation, deforestation and biodiversity loss. This chapter presents the findings from a simulation exercise that looks at the effects on employment and income of a transition from conventional to organic rice farming in Southeast Asia.