More than 800 million jobs worldwide—around one quarter of the global workforce today—are highly vulnerable to climate extremes and economic transition impacts.

The impacts will be particularly severe in Asia Pacific and Africa, with many workforces in these regions, such as India and China, having more than 40% of employment in highly exposed industries.

Government coordination is key to ensuring the transition takes place at the optimal pace and scale to achieve the greatest possible economic growth and job creation while mitigating climate impacts and costs to vulnerable workers.

With rapid decarbonization and active transition policy in the coming decade, all regions globally can have higher economic growth and more jobs, compared to an unassisted transition. More than 300 million additional jobs globally can be created by 2050 from seizing the decarbonization opportunity and making the transition work for all.

The transition to net-zero emissions creates a cadre of workers with new skills.

A Green Collar worker can be an office worker or a manual laborer. It is not about the industry, location, or skills of a worker that makes them Green Collar; it is about how decarbonization does (or doesn’t) influence their work and their skills.

Some existing occupations will significantly transform, others may only need to change at the margins, and entirely new ones will emerge as the Green Collar workforce shapes the future of work.

The Deloitte Economics Institute has developed a Green Collar workforce policy agenda to guide how decision-makers should consider supporting industries and workers to adapt to global decarbonization for equitable employment outcomes.

The policy agenda is shaped by the need for an active transition to net zero globally, and this means an active role for governments globally in workforce and decarbonization policy efforts.

Each region will have its own unique pathway to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. While this report provides a global perspective, it is critical to determine how to leverage the policy framework based on the specifics of a local workforce and the skills needed to drive an economy in a net-zero world.