The Government today said it was laying enhanced focus on creation of 'green jobs' as India was committed to fostering environmentally sustainable employment opportunities.
"Green jobs are a potential area of creating more employment opportunities as there are good prospects of green jobs generation in non-conventional energy sector and other emerging sectors," Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat said.
A green job, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, is work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development, administrative, and service activities that contribute to preserving environmental quality, including jobs that help in protecting ecosystems and biodiversity.
He said the Government is giving special emphasis to the implementation of national action plan on climate change and "our national efforts include strong measures for energy conservation and other energy sources."
Towards this end, the Government has enacted the NREGA programme and most of the economic activities prescribed under the Act are in fact green jobs, he said at the first-ever 'national conference on green jobs' organised by International Labour Organisation here.
He, however, said the definition of green jobs should be flexible enough to incorporate the local situation and conditions.
Rawat also sought mapping of green jobs in the unorganised sector and small scale sectors where there is immense scope for creation of such types of employment.
ILO Regional director for Asia and Pacific region Sachiko Yamamoto said the creation of green jobs will depend greatly on how individual governments can create programmes to boost the development of greener economy that can bring environmental, employment and social benefits together.
ILO is working closely with several organisations in the country and academic institutes for promoting and encouraging green jobs. It is also holding discussions with a premier management institute to start a course on green jobs, said an ILO official.
