GFRR 2026 - Climate as a Labour Market Shock: What Responsible Recruitment Must Anticipate

Climate disruption is no longer a background condition for labour mobility; it is an active force reshaping why people leave their homes, where they set off from, and what kind of work conditions they are heading towards. Drawing on the realities of corridors stressed by extreme heat, flooding, and agricultural collapse, this session examines what responsible recruitment must anticipate when origin conditions, destination conditions, and contract assumptions are all shifting at once. The discussion brings together business, government, workers, and climate migration perspectives to test an emerging just transition agenda for labour mobility against regional realities. Thinking through what decarbonisation and adaptation risks, new corridor and workforce flows, and emerging governance gaps actually mean for the responsible recruitment agenda. Moderator: Sarah Mostafa-Kamel, Head of Migration Programmes, IHRB. Speakers: – Evans Wambua, Founder, One Thousand Leads & Climate Action Specialist – Joseph Paul Maliamauv, Board of Directors Member, Tenaganita – Kanta Kumari Rigaud, Lead Environmental Specialist, World Bank – Murni Raja Nur Azmi, Executive Director, Group Corporate Affairs, Nestlé Malaysia & Singapore – Geertrui Lanneau, Senior Regional Specialist on Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, IOM