Climate justice and the informal economy: Understanding impacts and strengthening resilience

 

Informal workers around the world are voicing concerns over the climate crisis and calling for a just transition. The climate crisis has not received the attention it deserves, despite its urgency. While there is a strong evidence base on the effects of climate change on informal settlements, the effects on informal employment remain a gap in research and in key climate governance processes.

Through surveys, focus groups and key informant interviews with home-based workers, street vendors and waste pickers, this project will unpack and make visible the multifaceted impacts of climate change on informal livelihoods. It will assess existing coping and adaptation strategies and how they can be enhanced, document good practices of climate-resilient infrastructure provision and analyze climate financing opportunities to address worker needs. It will also strengthen worker movements’ policy and advocacy influence at key climate discussions at local, national and global levels. The goal is to secure concrete commitments to livelihood-supporting interventions and to amplify the voices and lived experiences of informal workers.

The current project will be anchored around four cities, harnessing on-going advocacy efforts and established partners in Brazil, India, Thailand and South Africa.