Pandemic will spell devastation for global workforce unless we invest in green economy

 1.6bn workers in the informal economy — almost half the global workforce — are in 'immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed'  

Too often, it is assumed that progress on sustainability must come at the expense of economic growth and employment. 

In the US, it is estimated that, despite a headline unemployment rate of 13.3%, actual unemployment is closer to 27%. Picture: AP

But some of the costs are already becoming apparent, beginning with the devastation the crisis will wreak on the global workforce. With climate change also threatening to hurt the world’s most vulnerable workers, the need for a holistic crisis response that emphasises both justice and sustainability could not be greater.