The Financial Times Business Recorder, September 25, 2008, Thursday
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Copyright 2008 Emmayzed Publications (PIT) Ltd, Source:
The Financial Times Business Recorder
September 25, 2008, Thursday
HEADLINE: IMPACT OF GLOBAL 'GREEN ECONOMY' BID TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE MAY CREATE MILLIONS OF JOBS
BYLINE: ITRAT BASHIR
BODY:
Efforts to tackle climate change could result in the creation of millions of new "green jobs" in the coming decades, observed a new study on the impact of an emerging global "green economy" on the world. The new report entitled "Green jobs: towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world," which was produced by the Worldwatch Institute, with technical assistance from the Cornell University Global Labour Institute.
It was funded and commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) under a joint Green Jobs Initiative with the International Labour Office (ILO), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), which together represent millions of workers and employers world-wide.
The report says changing patterns of employment and investment resulting from efforts to reduce climate change and its effects are already generating new jobs in many sectors and economies, and can create millions more in both developed and developing countries.
However, it also finds that the process of climate change, already under way, will continue to have negative effects on workers and their families, especially those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and tourism.
Action to tackle climate change as well as to cope with its effects was, therefore, urgent and should be designed to generate decent jobs, it added. Though the report is generally optimistic about the creation of new jobs to address climate change, it also warns that many of these new jobs can be "dirty, dangerous and difficult".
Sectors of concern, especially but not exclusively in developing economies, include agriculture and recycling where all too often low pay, insecure employment contracts and exposure to health hazardous materials needs to change fast.
It focuses on "green jobs" in agriculture, industry, services and administration that contribute to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment. It also calls for measures to ensure that they constitute "decent work" that helps reduce poverty while protecting the environment. Among other key findings in the report include the global market for environmental products and services is projected to double from 1,370 billion dollars per year at present to 2,740 billion dollars by 2020. Half of this market is in energy efficiency and the balance in sustainable transport, water supply, sanitation and waste management.
Sectors that will be particularly important in terms of their environmental, economic and employment impact are energy supply, in particular renewable energy, buildings and construction, transportation, basic industries, agriculture and forestry. Renewable energy generates more jobs than employment in fossil fuels. Projected investments of 630 billion dollars by 2030 would translate into at least 20 million additional jobs in the renewable energy sector.
In agriculture, 12 million could be employed in biomass for energy and related industries. A world-wide transition to energy-efficient buildings would create millions of jobs, as well as "greening" existing employment for many of the estimated 111 million people already working in the construction sector.
"A sustainable economy can no longer externalise environmental and social costs. The price society pays for the consequences of pollution or ill health for example, must be reflected in the prices paid in the marketplace. Green jobs, therefore, need to be decent work", the report says.
It recommends a number of pathways to a more sustainable future directing investment to low-cost measures that should be taken immediately. It include assessing the potential for green jobs and monitoring progress to provide a framework for policy and investment; addressing the current skills bottleneck by meeting skill requirements because available technology and resources for investments can only be deployed effectively with qualified entrepreneurs and skilled workers; and ensuring individual enterprises' and economic sectors' contribution to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases with labour-management initiatives to green workplaces.
The report finds that green markets have thrived and transformation has advanced most where there has been strong and consistent political support at the highest level, including targets, penalties and incentives such as feed-in laws and efficiency standards for buildings and appliances as well as proactive research and development.
Copyright 2008 Business Recorder
LOAD-DATE: September 25, 2008
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