Press Release
On September 9, the Brazil Office of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (DIEESE) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) foundation’s contingent in Brazil held a virtual event to launch a report entitled The Big Push for Sustainability and the dynamics of employment, work and income: Work in the context of the Brazilian economy’s social and ecological transformation (available in Portuguese).
With Professor André Roncaglia of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) moderating, the event had a conversation-based format that was divided into two blocs. Bloc I featured the opinions and reflections of leaders of labor organizations and those who operate in the world of work, with the participation of Senator Jaques Wagner, Chair of the Brazilian Senate’s Environment Commission; Sergio Nobre, President of the Central Union of Workers (CUT); Carmen Foro, Secretary General of the CUT; and Ana Toni, Executive Director of the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS). Comments were provided by Patricia Pelatieri, Deputy Technical Director of DIEESE; Carlos Mussi, Director of ECLAC’s Office in Brazil; and Christoph Heuser, Representative of FES in Brazil.
Bloc II included the voices of workers, with stories and testimony about the experiences of the actors directly involved in the sustainable investment case studies, who had been interviewed for the publication, which included Felisbela Maria Costa Santos, a farmer and settler who shared her experience with the Sustainable Settlements Project in the Amazon; Suelen Ramos, President of the Association of Recyclable Material Collectors of Manaus and representative of the National Movement of Collectors, and participant in the Lend a Hand to the Future Program; Júlio Valério, a rural resident who shared his experience with the Cisterns Program; and Daniela Proner Canale, WEG’s Head of Field Assembly of Wind Turbines, who made observations regarding the rapid national development of the wind energy industry. Comments were provided by Gonzalo Berrón (FES), Camila Gramkow (ECLAC) and Nelson Karam (DIEESE).
The report being presented was the result of technical cooperation between ECLAC, DIEESE and FES to understand the impact of sustainable (or “green”) investments on employment dynamics in Brazil.
The project’s final report was prepared during a virtual workshop, based on interviews with actors linked to investments selected in diverse areas (the wind energy industry, cisterns, recycling, sustainable settlements in the Amazon, as well as others), followed by discussions with experts and union leaders, environmentalists, etc.
The event was focused on launching this final report, entitled “The Big Push for Sustainability and the dynamics of employment, work and income: Work in the context of the Brazilian economy’s social and ecological transformation,” and promoting discussion about the relevance of creating quality jobs in the context of a transformative recovery with sustainability and equality for Brazil.