Thematic page on the cooperative, social and solidarity economy
SSE: Environmental sustainability
Climate change is affecting the world of work in various ways, with some new jobs being created and transformed (e.g. renewable energy), while other jobs are being lost or replaced. Given these changes, cooperatives are emerging as economic actors in climate change adaptation (e.g. mutual insurance for crops; agricultural cooperatives supporting diversification of crops or improved watershed management) as well as mitigation (e.g. renewable energy cooperatives, forestry and agroforestry cooperatives) across countries. In urban areas, cooperatives exist in waste management systems, particularly in the form of waste picker cooperatives in countries such as India, Brazil, Colombia and South Africa. Cooperatives across sectors ranging from agriculture to energy are also growingly greening their operations. In the renewable energy industry they have a number of competitive advantages, including democratic local control over energy production and use, the capacity to create local employment, and reasonable pricing.
26 October 2020
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