Jobs in a Changing Climate - Why the World Bank Sees Employment as a Climate Challenge and Opportunity

17th November 2025

As the world grapples with climate change, the jobs question is emerging as a vital piece of the conversation.

The World Bank's recent report Jobs in a Changing Climate (7 November 2025) argues that climate adaptation and low-carbon development are not just environmental imperatives — they are deeply tied to global employment trends, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

The report brings into focus how climate risks threaten jobs, and how green investments can generate new, better employment opportunities. By putting this lens on labor markets, the World Bank highlights both a major challenge and a powerful opportunity for inclusive growth.

The Climate-Job Risk: Massive Potential for Job Losses

One of the most sobering findings in the report is the risk of job losses due to climate change. The analysis — covering 49 countries in depth, based on World Bank Group Country Climate and Development Reports — estimates that by 2050, the equivalent of 43 million jobs could be lost across those economies because of climate impacts. When extrapolated to all low- and middle-income countries, the number swells dramatically suggesting that hundreds of millions of jobs could be at risk.

These are not just marginal jobs. Many of the most climate-vulnerable jobs exist in sectors like agriculture, low-skill manufacturing, and informal labor markets — where workers already struggle with low pay, precarity, and weak social protection. Climate shocks, such as extreme weather, droughts, and heat stress, disproportionately affect these sectors. That means economic vulnerabilities could compound: the very people who can least afford to lose work or income are often those most exposed.

But There's a Bright Side: Green Investments Can Create Millions of Jobs

It's not all doom and gloom. The report also makes a hopeful case: investments in climate resilience and low-emissions development could create up to 150 million "more and better-paid" jobs by 2050.
World Bank

Adaptation: Building resilience (e.g., flood defenses, climate-resilient infrastructure, water management) can generate many jobs. These projects often require local labor, and they can be more labor-intensive than purely capital-driven investments.

Green industries: Renewable energy, clean transport, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, and other low-carbon sectors not only reduce emissions — they demand workers with a mix of green and technical skills.

Just transitions: As economies shift away from carbon-intensive industries, there's room to re-skill workers and offer new employment pathways. Policies that encourage worker reallocation and protection of vulnerable communities can make transitions more equitable.

Where the Jobs Will Be: Sectoral and Regional Shifts

The report emphasizes that the impact won't be uniform: new job opportunities will emerge in some sectors and regions much more than others. While aggregate employment changes might look moderate, the reshuffling could be profound.

Emerging green technologies will spur demand for engineers, technicians, and operations workers in renewable energy, recycling, and efficiency.

Service sectors may benefit too, especially where green infrastructure supports growth (for example, eco-tourism, sustainable logistics).

Regions exposed to climate risk — which often overlap with poorer economies — could see both losses in traditional jobs and gains in green jobs, depending on how policies are structured.

This means governments and development agencies need to think deeply about where to invest, whom to support, and how to balance short-term climate risks with long-term job creation.

Policy Priorities: What Needs to Happen

The World Bank's report doesn’t just diagnose the problem — it also lays out a policy roadmap. Here are some of the key levers:

Invest in human capital: As economies green, workers need new skills. Governments should expand training programs in technical, green, and soft skills, especially in regions that are economically vulnerable or highly exposed to climate risk.

Create a supportive business environment: Regulations, incentives, and financial structures must encourage green industries. This includes removing barriers for small firms, enabling green finance, and promoting inclusive business models.

Protect vulnerable communities: Social protection (e.g., safety nets, retraining programs) will be critical to ensure that workers displaced by climate change or the clean-energy transition are not left behind.

Promote labor mobility: Workers may need to move from declining sectors or regions to new economic zones. Policies to facilitate geographic and sectoral mobility — with minimal social cost — can make transitions smoother.

Mobilize public and private capital: The scale of investment needed is huge. Governments and development institutions must de-risk green investments, encourage private-sector participation, and forge partnerships to scale up climate action that also creates jobs.

Why Jobs Are Central to Development — Not Peripheral

This report is significant not just for climate policy, but for development more broadly. The World Bank has long argued that jobs are the "surest pathway out of poverty."

Rising labour income has been a major contributor to poverty reduction in recent decades.
Open Knowledge World Bank

By integrating jobs into the climate agenda, the World Bank is pushing a more holistic narrative: climate action must be also an employment strategy. Without that, we risk undermining livelihoods and deepening inequality. But with the right policies, the green transition can accelerate not just climate and economic goals, but social ones too.

Challenges and Risks

Of course, this isn’t easy. There are several key barriers:

Financing: Not all countries have the fiscal space or creditworthiness to finance large-scale adaptation or green infrastructure.

Institutional capacity: Developing and implementing labour market policies that are responsive to changing climate dynamics is hard, especially in countries with weak governance.

Unequal access to jobs: There’s a risk that new green jobs concentrate among more advantaged workers or regions, leaving marginalized groups behind.
Conclusion

The World Bank’s Jobs in a Changing Climate report offers a powerful and timely insight: climate change is not just about environments — it’s about economies, societies, and livelihoods. The risks to jobs are significant, but so are the opportunities. Through smart policies, investment in human capital, and an inclusive approach, the green transition can become not just an environmental movement, but a jobs revolution.

Read the full report HERE
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