The Green Jobs Initiative was launched jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) , the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE) . The concept of green jobs illustrates the transformation of the economy into an environmentally sustainable, low-carbon, climate resilient economy that provides decent work. The objective is to reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors, ultimately to levels which are sustainable and to ensure that working conditions are safe and healthy. Green jobs thus embody the two concepts of environmental sustainability and Decent Work.

Green jobs contribute to reducing the need for energy and raw material, avoiding greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing waste and pollution, and restoring ecosystem services like clean water, flood protection and biodiversity.

China was one of the first ILO member states to start technical cooperation on green jobs with the ILO. In a short period of time, four research projects on different issues related to green jobs promotion have been completed. These have laid a good basis for future policy development and technical cooperation, and brought new partnerships into the world of work, addressing the need for balanced social, economic and environmental development.

The ILO, together with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) , All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) and China Enterprises Confederation (CEC) , jointly organized a high profile Forum on Green Jobs for a Better Life, to further promote the notion of green jobs for a green economy, decent work and better life.