C40 Cities

Good Green Jobs and Labour Migration Opportunities for Urban Leaders

SEPTEMBER 2024

Cities are increasingly on the frontline of challenges and at the forefront of responses. This report showcases over 35 innovative city-led actions across five key areas of opportunity.

Very limited attention has been paid so far to how migration can positively contribute to the green transition, and how better alignment between climate and migration policies can deliver a fairer and faster green transition for all. As the test for good policy-making will be in the world’s largest urban centres, this research surveyed sixteen cities from across five regions, engaged over fifteen subject-matter experts and looked at the labour profiles of people expected to be forced from their homes to cities due to climate change in the next decades. This policy report emphasizes the importance of investing in a diverse and inclusive workforce to benefit migrants and long-term residents alike, while creating more environmentally sustainable cities.

Climate change is the real crisis of our time, but how people adapt to its impacts, including through labour migration, does not necessarily need to be. Across all regions, mayors are already leading by example, leveraging their soft and formal powers, and building a strong case for inclusive and urban-specific solutions. Leading mayors are already proving that successful solutions exist, but significant policy and finance shifts are needed at the national and international level to bring these solutions at scale.

This report has been produced by C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, in partnership with the Climate Migration Council and Mayors Migration Council. The full report along with the Executive Summary is located here along with downloadable versions on this page.