Just as unbridled climate change will do serious damage to the economy and its workers – not least by exacerbating natural disasters and contributing to pandemics – so, too, will failure to improve human-capital management and safeguard workers’ wellbeing. That is why both climate action and social protections must be embedded in COVID-19 recovery strategies.
LONDON – It will take time for the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic consequences to come into full view. 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 emphasizes both justice and sustainability could not be greater.
The numbers paint a grim picture. The International Labor Organization warns that 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy – almost half the global workforce – are in “immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed.” The African Union reports that, in Africa alone, nearly 20 million jobs, in both the formal and informal sectors, are at risk. In the United States, the New York Times estimates that, despite a headline unemployment rate of 13.3% – already higher than in any previous postwar recession – actual unemployment is closer to 27%.
CIRSD Vice President Participates at International Conference on Responsible Management Education
Belgrade, October 2025 — CIRSD Vice President Stefan Jovanović participated in the 12th Responsible Management Education Research Conference (RMERC), held last week in Belgrade. The event was organized by the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, and the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Anti-Poverty Working Group, bringing together representatives from academia, the business community, and international organizations from around the world.
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Maria Fernanda Espinosa Calls for Stronger Preventive Diplomacy as the UN Marks its 80th Anniversary
As the United Nations commemorates its 80th anniversary, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former President of the UN General Assembly and Co-Chair of the Global Preventive Diplomacy Initiative (GPDI), spoke to CGTN’s flagship program The Agenda about the urgent need to modernize the UN and make preventive diplomacy the central pillar of its peace and security agenda.
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CIRSD and NGIC Coorganize a High-Level Conference at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
Vienna, October 21, 2025 — The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) and the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC), convened a high-level international conference titled “Shifting Grounds: The Caucasus, Central Asia and Europe in a New Global Order”, in partnership with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.
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Vuk Jeremić Addresses the China Institute’s Thinkers Forum on the Future of the World Order
Shanghai, October 2025 — President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) Vuk Jeremić, took part in the Thinkers Forum organized by the China Institute, marking the jubilee 10th anniversary of this distinguished institution.
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