8. Decent work and economic growth
Over the past 25 years the number of workers living in extreme poverty has declined dramatically, despite the lasting impact of the 2008 economic crisis and global recession. In developing countries, the middle class now makes up more than 34 percent of total employment – a number that has almost tripled between 1991 and 2015.
However, as the global economy continues to recover we are seeing slower growth, widening inequalities, and not enough jobs to keep up with a growing labour force. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 204 million people were unemployed in 2015.
Read our stories to learn more about SDG Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
To adopt SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth, in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, please contact us at partners@eco-business.com
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Food & Agriculture
Drought-resilient millet: a pathway to food security in India?
As a nutrient-rich grain that can withstand drought and heat, millet is being promoted across India amid increasing weather extremes – but despite the government’s promotion efforts, demand remains low.
Carbon & Climate
Climate change 'is killing us' - UN sounds health alarm
The damage being done to public health by global warming is rising up the political agenda - and will be a key theme at COP28.
The Philippines' first real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on clean energy made its debut on the country's stock market last year. China now has its eye on the financing channel too. Does this new mechanism come with drawbacks?
Carbon & Climate
Climate change takes heavy toll on mental health in Bangladesh
As Bangladesh faces increasingly extreme weather from floods to storms, psychologists fear rise in anxiety and depression.
Opinion
Policy & Finance
Why the next decade will be so critical for Indonesia: it’s not simply about getting rich
The government elected next year will have a long to-do list, not least of which is to continue pursuing meaningful development as Indonesia aspires to reach high income status by 2045.
Carbon & Climate
Exploring the intersection of business and our ecology
Founder and managing director Jessica Cheam investigates the relationship between business and our natural world, and shares about the genesis of Eco-Business in this book chapter contribution to 'Peace and Nature', a book compilation of 50 essays and edited by Professor Tommy Koh, Lye Lin Heng and Shawn Lum launched in Singapore recently.
Policy & Finance
Rosy unemployment rates mask a grim reality
Recovery is being led by high-income countries, with low-income countries lagging far behind, worsening the global employment divide.
New research into selected geographical regions across Vietnam, for example, finds that the majority of plastic waste is being recycled by informal workers in craft villages. These waste pickers need to be given a voice.
Policy & Finance
Cut the climate doom – exponential green change is possible
Policy & Finance
Is the net-zero transition endangering the Asian century?
Policy & Finance
Unravelling the Belt and Road puzzle in Indonesia
Videos
Policy & Finance
Tackling climate change in a mosaicked Asia
EB Studio
Asia's green transition pathways need to be socially inclusive given huge differences in economic development across the region, says experts at the Boston Consulting Group. State-owned enterprises have an "outsized" role to play, they add.
Green Buildings
Getting our urban environment to net-zero
EB Studio
Our urban infrastructure is responsible for almost 40 per cent of global carbon emissions. Climate solutions need to include the biggest energy guzzlers, clean energy and retrofitting old buildings.
Carbon & Climate
Women in STEM driving sustainability
Women play a key role in developing innovations to push for sustainability, but barriers remain to their entry into STEM careers. To celebrate International Day of Women & Girls in Science, EB Impact speaks to three women in science on making an impact and pursuing careers in STEM.
In gridlocked, smoggy Southeast Asian cities, change is afoot to electrify transport and clear some of the world's most polluted skies. This video documents the pockets of hope for e-mobility around the most climate-vulnerable region.
Podcasts
Policy & Finance
‘We do not just adopt global standards, we respond to domestic challenges’: Philippine central bank exec Lyn Javier
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas assistant governor tells the Eco-Business Podcast about the regulator’s maiden sustainability report that features an empirical study of climate impacts on banks as well as the nation’s first taxonomy.
In a region where large hydro projects and expanding biofuel plantations coincide with an upcoming coal phaseout, a laissez-faire approach could worsen existing inequalities and mar the success of a clean energy buildout.
Policy & Finance
How did Covid change sustainability events?
EB Studio
Covid-19 didn't kill events, but it did change them. Teymoor Nabili and Veemal Gungadin tell the Eco-Business Podcast how a pandemic transformed the way sustainability events are conceived and organised.
GoTo sustainability head Tanah Sullivan tells the Eco-Business Podcast that regulating net-zero claims would decarbonise Southeast Asia faster. Indonesia's biggest internet firm aims to cut emissions to zero by 2030 — a target critics say is unrealistic.
