he annual United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Bonn, Germany on 6-17 November 2017 under the presidency of Fiji. This twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP23) will advance the aims and ambitions of the Paris Agreement. It will focus on the development of guidelines on how the Paris Agreement’s provisions will be implemented across a wide range of issues including transparency, adaptation, emission reductions, provision of finance, capacity-building and technology.

Further to the implementation guidelines, another major deliverable for COP23 will be to provide the design for the 2018 facilitative dialogue process to take stock of the collective climate efforts.

Key issues for the ILO

The ILO will follow the discussions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) with a view of taking forward the work programme comprising of “economic diversification and transformation” and “Just transition of the workforce, and the creation of decent work and quality jobs”. Economic diversification and just transition are considered as interdependent to achieve sustainable development and labour-related policies are directly linked to climate change policies.

In this framework the ILO will be hosting and contributing to several side events, studios and exhibits addressing issues at the interface of climate change, decent work and a just transition for all, with the participation of ILO constituents representing governments, workers and employers’ organizations:
 

High Level Dialogue: The Pacific voice for a just transition, job creation, and climate resilience

Tuesday 7 November 2017, Fiji Pavilion, 12:00-13:00

The panel discussion will focus on adaptation and resilience and how to enable environment for NDC implementation. The high-level discussion will be chaired by The Republic of Fiji, the COP 23 President is hosted in partnership with the ILO. More on the event  

UN system event on climate justice: Just transition for all and a human rights-based approach to climate action

Wednesday 8 November 2017, 13:15 – 14:45

The side event will showcase country experiences on just transition planning, policies and funding modalities and human-rights based approaches to climate action with the effective engagement of governments and social partners and opportunities to expand international cooperation in this area.

Discussion: How to build green and inclusive economies to implement the Paris Agreement?

Thursday 9 November 2017, 1:15pm – 2:45pm, Meeting Room 11 (100)

Economic and financial policies must play a far greater role in addressing climate change and achieving the SDGs. The side-event will demonstrate how countries can take informed decisions on investments, infrastructure, and human capital to transition to more inclusive and green economies. The event is organized by the Partnership for Action on Green Economy involving the ILO, UNDP, UN Environment, UNIDO, and UNITAR in collaboration with WTO and UNCTAD. It will feature representatives from partner countries, as well as UN organizations and PAGE funding partners (including the European Union and SECO). More on the event. 

UN System side event on disaster risk reduction: Building on the Sendai Framework in support of the Paris Agreement implementation and monitoring

Tuesday 14 November 18:30 – 20:00

The event will consider the elements of both the Sendai Framework and the Paris Agreement highlighting their complementarities, and reflect on how national governments, local authorities and stakeholders within and across all sectors are promoting coherence across these two international agendas. The session will also showcase practical and effective measures to deliver greater impact through coherent action.

UN system side event on Education Day: High-level dicussion on education

Thursday 16 November 2017, 11:30am – 1:00 pm, Meeting Room 6 (300)

The event promotes the driving role of education in moving forward with the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the SDGs, fosters stakeholder engagement (governments, civil society, private sector, international organizations…) towards transformational partnerships for climate change education

UN system side event on gender: Towards a gender-responsive human-rights based Paris Agreement for all people and planet

Thursday 16 November, 18:30 – 20:00

The event will demonstrate how gender equality and human rights bring multiple gains for all. Concrete recommendations will be presented on how gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights could be incorporated into the Paris Agreement work programme, Global Stocktake and Facilitative Dialogue.

The ILO will also display its work in UN exhibition booths under the themes of the Sustainable Development Goals, including a dedicated exhibit on Green growth and Decent Work.

As an observer organization in the UNFCCC, the ILO is contributing to the implementation of the work programme, through submissions, briefings at workshops of UNFCCC Parties, and technical inputs provided through the UN climate change secretariat. ILO contributions draw on the Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all adopted through tripartite consensus in November 2015..

The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016 committing signatory countries to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius and to make strong efforts to keep the rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It stressed “the imperative of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities”.