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A closer look at just transition policies
Philippines

Philippine Green Jobs Act of 2016

Region
Asia and the Pacific
Country
Philippines
Originator/Owner
Government Ministries And Agencies National Level
Coordinating/Lead actor
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
Policy type
Policies
Policy areas
Active labour market policies, Enterprise policies, Industrial and sectoral policies, Rights, Skills development, Social dialogue and tripartism, Social protection
Environmental focus
Biodiversity loss, Climate change, Pollution
Target groups
Employers, Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), Workers
Sectoral focus
Agriculture, Infrastructure, construction and related sectors, Energy, Financial services, Forestry and Land use, Manufacturing, Maritime and transport, Private services sector, Public services, utilities and health, Tourism
Crosscutting themes
Employment/job creation, Finance (public/private), Green economy
Date of Adoption
29 Apr 2016
Timeframe
16 Apr 2016 - December 2024
16 Apr 2016
Green Jobs Act passed by Congress of the Philippines
08 Sep 2017
Green Jobs Act Implementing Rules and Regulations published
2020
National Green Jobs Human Resource Development Plan published
Dec 2024
Updated NGJ HRD Plan published
Republic Act No. 10771 - Philippine Green Jobs Act of 2016
English, PDF

The Green Jobs Act 2016 provides legislative grounding for the transition to a sustainable economy. It is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia and among the first worldwide.

The Act requires government development plans to mainstream green job concerns. It defines green jobs as employment that contributes to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment, be it in the agriculture, industry or services sector.

Furthermore, it aligns with international definitions by stressing that green jobs are decent jobs that are productive, respect the rights of workers, deliver a fair income, provide security in the workplace and social protection for families, and promote social dialogue.

Over the decade since the Green Jobs Act was passed, the Philippines has developed a layered policy architecture that embeds just transition principles and measures, cutting across climate and environmental goals. The Act remains the key legal pillar that underpins the Philippines’ ambition on sustainable, high-quality employment growth.

Key insights
Decent work as a quality floor for what the transition should deliver, with government mandates to create pathways for workers and enterprises

The Green Jobs Act is an enabler of a green-skilled labour force and a shift to sustainable enterprises, via a range of interlocking policies. It thereby supports tripatite efforts for a just transition, with three notable channels.

  1. It affirms labour as the primary socioeconomic force in the transition to a green economy. Towards this, it mandates the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to craft a National Green Jobs Human Resource Development Plan to align workforce development with climate action.
  2. It recognizes employers and enterprises as the locus of green job creation. To support businesses to drive this transformation, the Act creates fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for a shift to sustainable activities. These include a 50% special tax deduction on relevant skills training and R&D expenses, and tax and duty-free importation of capital equipment used directly in promoting green jobs.
  3. It strengthens institutional linkages between climate and labour policymaking. Notably, the Act assigns the Climate Change Commission (CCC) the responsibility to administer the assessment and certification of green jobs that will be used to administer incentives. To support ongoing inter-agency coordination, DOLE was added to the CCC’s advisory board.

Key employment growth sectors with potential for green jobs are expected across different industries with non-services roles including energy, construction, and manufacturing, as well as in transport, sustainable agriculture, and ecotourism.

The Act’s incentives for enterprises explicitly includes self-employed and own-account workers, micro, small and medium enterprises, and community-based business enterprises.

Expected Outcomes
Backing workers and employers with strong, overlapping policy mandates
The Philippines is bringing the ILO’s just transition guidelines to life by promoting green jobs, helping workers gain the green skills they need, and incentivizing employers’ shift to low-carbon operations without leaving workers behind
Bernard Paul Mangulabnan, Acting chief labour & employment officer: Institute of Labour Studies (ILS), Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE)
Implementation
A green jobs agenda delivered through detailed labour planning and strengthened by an updated national framework

The Act demonstrates the importance of intersecting policies and horizontal coordination within government, laying out roles and responsibilities for 15 government ministries and agencies.

The Philippines participated in a project to pilot the application of the ILO Guidelines for a just transition, in partnership with the ILO, launched when the Green Jobs Act passed. This project supported development of the Act’s implementing rules and regulations and the assessment and certification system for administraiton of incentives. Activities included establishing tripartite and multipartite forums, building statistics systems, an updated country-level baseline study on skills for green jobs, training for businesses, and dialogues with partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

Subsequently, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s National Green Jobs Human Resources Development Plan, led by the Institute for Labour Studies, was first released in 2020 – and updated in 2024. The plan's measures target:

  • proactive creation of new employment, such as through green jobs digital information services
  • assurance that green sectors provide decent work, such as through priority labour law inspections and compliance programmes
  • protection for vulnerable workers in the transition, such as by institutionalizing unemployment benefits and adapting existing subsidies, transfers, and skills training programmes.

Significantly, retraining is intended to be technical with upskilling matching workers to emerging green technology needs. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) support DOLE in analyzing skills, training and retraining needs related to technologies; DOST also provides business development support to MSMEs, including prototyping technologies.

The Green Jobs Act requires green jobs to be integrated directly into sectoral and industrial policies by tasking government departments for transport, tourism, and public infrastructure to shape strategies, investments and programmes that foster green employment. Fiscal incentives and financial packages are assigned to the mandates of the finance ministry and public financial institutions.

Importantly, the agenda for green employment has also been integrated into a wider policy architecture in the Philippines. Important policies include:

  • the country’s master economic planning instrument, the Philippine Development Plan
  • higher-level labour plans including the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan (PLEP) 2023–2028
  • a national Just Transition Framework that is under development and undergoing consultation, led by DOLE.
Iterative dialogues to shape the law, regulations, and implementing plans
2016
Policy developed through social dialogue with workers’ and employers’ representatives | Actors: Government, workers representatives, employers representatives | Meetings and presentations with tripartite stakeholders.
2016 - 2017
Consultations held to develop Implementing Rules and Regulations, reinforcing tripartism | Actors: Government, employers’ organizations and private sector, workers’ organizations | Supported by the ILO and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), via the Pilot Application of Policy Guidelines on Just Transition towards Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies for All.
2018
Multi-stakeholder Consultation on Assessment and Certification System and Guidelines | Actors: Government, employers’ organizations and private sector, workers’ organizations, and other development partners | The Climate Change Commission, in partnership with the ILO, held its first multi-stakeholder consultation to clarify issues around standard, accounting protocols, and certification processes for the Green Jobs Act.
18 Mar 2024 - 19 Mar 2024
National Green Jobs Human Resource Plan multi-stakeholder consultations | Actors: Government, employers’ organizations and industry groups, workers’ groups and labour unions, youth representatives, academia and research institutions, and other development partners | In-person dialogues gathered over 200 participants.
Other stakeholders
Enhancing capacity and collaboration for an inclusive transition

The ILO Just Transition pilot initiative in the Philippines provided support to constituents – primarily government, workers and employers’ organizations, with other stakeholders – to operationalize the Philippine Green Jobs Act. This included training and advocacy programmes and developing gender-responsive and inclusive strategies.