The future of work in a changing natural environment: climate change, degradation and sustainability

This paper argues that economic activity and work cannot be understood independently from the natural environment in which they take place. Indeed, two major trends related to the natural environment - current and future environmental degradation on the one hand, and the push towards environmental sustainability on the other - will define the future of work and social justice. Environmental degradation negatively affects the world of work given the tight linkages it has with the natural environment, notably through the loss of ecosystem services, the occurrence of natural disasters and the inequalities related to the exposure to environmental degradation and its associated risks.