Background

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The urgent need for rapid decarbonization and circular supply chains is clear as the world grapples with the triple planetary crisis. A truly just low-carbon future demands significant action and the inclusion and empowerment of communities and sectors most directly impacted, which includes the informal economy. These voices must shape the discussions and policies driving this transition, addressing plastic pollution, climate change adaptation, and income inequality. Regrettably, current international and national laws and policies often fail to acknowledge the significant contributions of informal economy workers. These laws frequently need to be revised to ensure humane working conditions, adequate income, and social protection, and even with that constant revision and formulation, their impact has been limited. Workers in the informal economy have long suffered under the extractive economy, lack access to remediation, and existing policies hinder fair and empowering transitions. For example, home-based workers need formal recognition, living wages, and social security from primary employers in supply chains. They also require appropriate working spaces to mitigate occupational health hazards.

Similarly, waste pickers advocate for decentralized waste management systems and inclusion in reuse systems under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) over incineration projects, which destroy their livelihoods and increase carbon emissions. Recent movements have begun to address their needs in plastic treaty negotiations.

 

Moreover, international funding institutions pushing for circular economy and energy transition projects often displace informal workers, including waste pickers, without adequate safeguards or compensation. The need for recognition in policy frameworks extends to invisibility in country and sector analyses, compensation schemes, and operational remediation mechanisms.

 

This session offers a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted challenges informal economy workers face within the supply chains and end-of-life disposal of plastics, electric vehicles, and textiles. By incorporating the voices of these workers, we will delve into the rights issues and impacts of transition projects on their economic livelihoods and health. The session will make a compelling case for the essential inclusivity of informal economy stakeholders in creating just safeguards and appropriate remedial frameworks to address displacement and harm.
We invite you to discuss integrating workers in the informal economy into the just transition, ensuring that policy recommendations and safeguards are inclusive and responsive. Through this dialogue, we can advocate for a genuinely Just transition that recognizes and supports all workers.

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Objectives

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• The audience is informed about the various workers and sectors within the informal economy, including the significant challenges they face in terms of the triple planetary crisis

• Hear from stakeholders from the ground affected most by this transition to surface narratives that are usually glossed over in media reportage on decarbonization and energy transition

• Consider more inclusive approaches to stakeholder consultation on the project inception level, including policy changes on access to remedies in cases where stakeholder rights are harmed

• Stakeholders, particularly businesses, engage with global unions representing informal economy workers, such as the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, HomeNet International, These connections help in fostering open-minded discussions about creating Just production practices, sustainable supply chains, material and waste management systems​

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Key questions

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• What are the main challenges in making supply chains more just, especially in relation to the inclusivity of the informal sector?

• How can informal sector inclusivity actually push for just decarbonization pathways, especially in the waste, fast fashion, and the e-vehicle sectors?

• What roles do international funding institutions and other development finance institutions play in ensuring that decarbonization projects in the region are just and are inclusive?