Page 32 - IB FEB 2018

Economy

all countries and all communities and these countries so they will bear the nega- counts for around a third of all workers
therefore we must put together our hands tive impacts of their own contribution to in Asia and the Pacific,” she said.
in the effort to address the challenges and climate change,” she said. “The impact on job creation or de-
to take advantage of the opportunities.” Martinez stresses that the new dynamic struction will depend on a country’s
The Pacific, Martinez says has perhaps made a strong argument for thinking of approach to sustainability, such as
an advantage in relation to transitioning to processes as enabling the greening of adopting conservation agriculture,
the green economy, considering there was economies and production rather than as which may be less labour intensive, or
no heavy industrialisation and presence a dichotomy between unsustainable dirty applying quotas that can impact fishing
of a culture of living in harmony with the jobs to be discontinued and sustainable and productivity in the sector,”
environment. clean jobs to be created. She said at the same time, there
“If anything the Pacific can now focus Martinez makes a point, stating that was potential to bolster decent work in
on new ideas, green innovations for new mitigation alone will not stop the climate other sectors as part of the transition to
products and services that go beyond the change impacts, and that adaptation and a greener society, particularly in con-
traditional ways of production,” she said. coping capacities will be equally necessary. struction, the circular economy (waste
“This ‘green’ focus for the way of life These adjustments to the natural and management and resource extraction)
in the islands need to be job-rich with human systems also have the potential to and transport.
decent jobs; this is a challenge itself but moderate harm and create new economic When asked if environment sustain-
not an impossible one as finances are opportunities, she says. ability and decent work in real time
available to walk through this economic “Agriculture is just one industry outside had the potential to go hand in hand,
transformation.” of renewable energy production that is Martinez said the short answer was yes
On the contrary, for countries that are impacted by climate change mitigation but that it will not happen automatically.
heavily industrialised, Martinez says and adaption strategies but is extremely “It will happen by design and it will
the transition could be difficult and some relevant, given that agriculture is a major require considerable planning and policy
job losses could be foreseen (in fossil fuels contributor to greenhouse gas emissions coherence for implementation.”
intensive industries, for example). (methane from rice paddies, cow dung or
“The transition will be more costly for land use change, for example) and ac- r priyameyou@gmail.com

32 Islands Business, February 2018