The impact of global climate change on the labour market: An empirical assessment in the context of unemployment in Turkey

Climate change, which characterizes the change in global normal weather conditions, has become one of the most important agendas of our age, especially in terms of its socio-economic consequences and problems. In this study, the economic reasons for climate change, which has the potential to affect many economic, social, political, cultural areas, and its effects on working life and labour markets were examined. In the study, conceptual and theoretical discussions on climate change are included. Economic growth, uncertainty and inequality have been identified as the essential elements of climate change. Climate change approaches are discussed within the framework of both orthodox economics which is based on generally accepted mainstream economic arguments, and heterodox economics which try to explain economic phenomena and events in a completely different perspective. The main socio-economic reasons effective in climate change are discussed under the titles of liberalization, change in the mode of production, population growth and urbanization, increasing energy demand and increasing consumption. The climate change and the transition to renewable energy, which represents climate change struggle to disrupt the function of the labour market. Accordingly, the new jobs and occupations created and destroyed by climate change were questioned in the context of unemployment. In addition to this, changes in wages, labour productivity, labour mobility and migration, labour relations, and occupational health and safety, which are related to the labour market, were evaluated. As a matter of fact, it is thought that unemployment rates in the labour market will increase if policies are not developed and implemented in accordance with the direct effects of climate change and the conditions in the context of struggle. The climate change struggle is defined in the context of mitigation of carbon emissions and adapting to changing climate effects. For this reason, mitigation and adaptation policies come to the fore in the climate change struggle. However, due to the subject matter, various forms of labour market policies are mainly included in this study. Although Turkey is among the countries that will be most affected by climate change due to its geographical location, it has not yet made sufficient progress in the climate change struggle. Therefore, it can be said that the Turkish labour market is open to the effects of climate change. However, research on the subject is quite limited. For this reason, the study aims to examine the effects of climate change on the labour market in Turkey, especially in unemployment. In this context, two models were designed to examine the effects of both climate change and renewable energy on unemployment between 1990-2019 in Turkey. In the research, unemployment as the dependent variable, carbon emission, temperature, GDP, urban population, and renewable and non-renewable energy consumption data as independent variables was used. The ARDL test, which can be used without the need for the variables to be stationary in the same order, was applied in the study. Although it is impossible to precisely determine the impact of climate change on unemployment, the results show a long-term relationship between unemployment and carbon emissions in Turkey. However, even though ongoing carbon-intensive investments reduce unemployment, intense carbon emissions mean more climate change and were therefore not considered environmentally and socially sustainable. In this sense, it is possible to say that renewable energy investments, which Turkey has taken a certain path forward, will be a solution to the current environmental and social problems. Likewise, the results of the research confirm that renewable energy consumption reduces unemployment more than non-renewable energy consumption in Turkey. In this sense, implementing labour market policies to increase renewable energy investments and give up non-renewable energy resources, on the one hand, and adapt to newly created low-carbon jobs on the other, should be the main approach to the climate change struggle in Turkey.