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DA 2427O Strengthening policies and capacities for Green Jobs for Youth in Cuba, Senegal, and Madagascar

Millions of jobs could be created through decarbonization and moving towards a circular economy to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Green policy measures, such as investments in clean and renewable energy, construction, sustainable agriculture, recycling, and waste management, have the potential to create an additional 8.4 million jobs for young people by 2030 (ILO, 2022). However, global temperature is already 1.2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and decarbonization is not happening fast enough due to barriers like lack of policy coherence, collaboration, private sector development, productivity, limited finance access, and skills gaps. The youth, with the most at stake in combating climate change, need to be at the center of development, implementing youth-led initiatives and co-developing policies for their future. This project will contribute to the Green Jobs for Youth Pact objectives, a UN partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support a just transition that boost decent jobs for youth and sustainable economic development. The project will focus on Cuba, Senegal and Madagascar and support the capacity and knowledge development amongst policymakers, employers’, and workers organizations as well as young leaders on employment creation. Specifically, the intervention will address how the triple planetary crisis impacts jobs creation, focusing on high impact sectors bringing circular and low carbon approaches. This project will aim to enhance national social dialogue as well as youth consultation in policy development on skills development, greening enterprises, entrepreneurship, and just transition. To achieve the project's objectives, two essential components will be used: 1) Strengthening policymakers' knowledge on green youth employment and 2) Enhancing inter-ministerial coordination with social partners, education institutions, and youth organizations. The project will leverage existing resources and create new ones to fill gaps and meet specific country needs. In addition to the finance and economic transformation priority area, the project will also contribute to the climate, nature, and pollution action priority areas. In particular, this project addresses MTS outcomes including Outcome 1A: Decision makers at all levels adopt decarbonization, dematerialization and resilience pathways, Outcome 1B: Countries and stakeholders have increased capacity, finance and access to technologies to deliver on the adaptation and mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement, and Outcome 2A: An economically and socially sustainable pathway for halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity as established of the Medium Term Strategy. The project also supports governments and local authorities to enhance the creation of green jobs and transition of brown to green jobs for youth is closely linked to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 13 (Climate Action), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) are directly related to the project's objective. The project is also in line with the recently approved UNEP short-term strategic approach for youth engagement which aims at creating the building blocks for a stronger UNEP youth offer supported by the UNEP cross-organizational Youth Working Group to establish a stronger and more integrated corporate approach to youth matters in support of the Medium-Term Strategy. By promoting the transition to green jobs, the project aims to enable governments to implement data frameworks, policies, and partnerships to create education and employment opportunities that are sustainable, contribute to economic growth and climate action, and provide decent work for young people. The Project is already replicating and building on previous projects and activities, as mentioned before, and will encourage sharing of lessons between target countries through the platform mentioned in OP2.3, as well as through the Green Jobs for Youth Pact. The activities envisaged under the project will be a continuation of efforts already underway aiming to improve green jobs for youth in the three target countries. The project will stress the importance of collective action, promoting multi-stakeholder collaboration. The idea is thus to build up local capacities and institutions (e.g. train the trainers) that continue beyond the duration of the Project, and to foster regional cooperation (e.g. dialogue, workshops) for long-term country-driven partnerships and establishment of key concepts in the regions. This will ensure sustainability of the activities and the results of the projects. The project will be taking advantage of the advancements and lessons learned of the Pact, benefitting from this existing coalition between three UN agencies and part