Summary on Green Jobs
Green Jobs Report ( From the United Nations)
Some Facts and Figures and Highlights
The global market for environmental products and services currently runs at around $1,370 billion or $1,000 billon Euro according to German consultants Roland Berger.
The market in 2020 could double to $2,740 billon or Euro 2,200 billion.
Renewables
Renewable energy generates more jobs than employment in fossil fuels.
Some 50 countries including a dozen in developing countries, have set renewable energy targets including Mexico; Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, China, India, the Philippines, Iran, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.
Globally some 300,000 people are employed in wind power and maybe 170,000 in solar.
Over 600,000 are employed in solar thermal—most of these in China.
Nearly 1.2 million are employed in biomass energy in four countries—Brazil, USA, Germany and China.
So overall 2.3 million are employed in renewable energy sector—a conservative figure.
In terms of
wind power
Germany leads with 82,000 employed followed by the United States, nearly 37,000 people; Spain, 35,000; China, over 22,000; Denmark, 21,000 and India, 10,000.
Solar Power (PV) is led by China with 55,000 people employed; followed by Germany, 35,000, Spain over 26,000 and United States, close to 16,000.
Solar thermal, China with 600,00 people employed; followed by Germany, over 13,000, Spain just over 9,000 and USA, close to 2,000.
Potential for job growth in China is solar thermal is huge. Currently solar water heaters represent an installed capacity of around 100 million square metres. China plans to boost this to 300 million square metres by 2020)
Biomass: Brazil with 500,000; USA, over 300,000; China 266,000; Germany, over 95,000 and Spain over 10,000.
Hydropower in Europe with 20,000 employed followed by the USA with 19,000, and geothermal with 21,000 employed in the USA.
European manufacturers account for three quarters of global wind power turbine sales, but China and India advancing.
Employment in alternative energies may rise to 2.1 million in wind and 6.3 million in solar PVs by 2030.
12 million could be employed in biomass and biomass related industries ie agriculture.
Well designed biomass can benefit local communities. In Mali a 15 year, jatropha-fueled electrification project is underway in Garalo in the south of the country.
Around 1,000 hectares of jatropha will produce feedstock for a 300 kilowatt power plant to provde clean electricity to up to 10,000 people and will replace imported diesel.
‘It has the potential for building a vibrant and dynamic economy in remote villages in Mali, providing local added value, employment and income generation,” says the report.
In Nigeria, a biofuels industry based on cassava and sugar can crops might sustain and industry employing 200,000.
In Venezuela, an ethanol blend of 10 per cent in fuels might provide one million jobs in the sugar cane sector by 2012.
A report by Wood Hole Research Centre estimates that India could generate 900,000 jobs by 2025 in biomass gasification
of which 300,000 would be in the manufacturing of gasifier stoves and 600,000 in biomass production processing into briquettes and pellets, supply chain etc.
In Bangladesh, Grameen Shakti plans to construct 200,000 biogas plants fueled by waste from cows and poultry by 2012.
The potential for improved cook stoves as well may be 2 million units. 600 local youth have been trained in making, selling and repairing such stoves.
Buildings
Employment growth more complicated here as greening employment may mean same work force re-trained or re-deployed.
Replacing traditional cooking stoves for nine million people in India could generate 150,000 jobs.
A combination of investment in new building codes up to new energy standards for appliances in the United States could lead to nearly a million green jobs.
Report says that overall a transition to energy efficient building world-wide could lead to tens of millions of new jobs and green employment for over 110 million currently employed.
Some cities have set energy targets for the building sector. Berlin-30 per cent cut in energy use in public buildings by 2010 and solar water heaters in 75 per cent of new buildings annually.
Copenhagen-all new buildings must use district heating with electrical heating banned.
Leicester, in the UK, has a target of a 50 per cent cut in municipal energy use by 2025 from 1990 levels.
Portland, Oregon, USA has set LEED Gold Standard for all new city-owned construction.
Tokyo, Japan has a five per cent renewable use in large municipal buildings.
The European Trade Union Confederation estimates that an investment of $4.3 billion to retrofit all residential buildings in the EU would cut emissions by 75 per cent and generate over 2.5 million full-time equivalent jobs by 2030—a later target date of 2050 means less jobs ie nearly 1.4 million jobs would arise.
A total of 21 countries have at least one green building code. In the US there are over 40,000 LEED-accredited professionals and in India there are 1,500.
In Australia there are 900 Green Star professionals and in the UK close to 2,000 BREAM-licensed assessors.
The Apollo Alliance New Energy for America report projects that close to 830,00 jobs could be created in the USA through investment in high performance buildings, both retrofitting and new green builds
—close to $90 billion-worth of investment is needed for financing, tax incentives and investment in R and D plus new building codes.
Over a dozen countries have established Green Building Councils
, that set energy efficiency standards, ranging from Australia and Brazil to Japan, Korea Mexico, the United Arab Emirates and the UK.
Green building codes can also boost jobs in the manufacturing of green appliances and equipment which, it is claimed, employ more people than the making of inefficient ones.
The EU are proposing to create energy efficiency requirements for homes by 2009.
Mexico carried out the first large-scale energy efficiency lighting programme in a developing country between 1995 and 1998. Old lights were replaced with one million compact fluorescent light bulbs in homes.
ILUMEX (Illumination of Mexico) demonstrated economic benefits for the power sector and communities and generated direct and indirect jobs while training indigenous people on large-scale efficiency programmes.
Similar but smaller lighting programmes have been introduced in Bolivia\and Brazil to Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
The photonics industry in Europe, which includes CFLs and light emitting diode lighting, is expected to grow employing 1.5 million people in 2010 up from 500,000 in 2003.
A survey of the 10 new European Union member states such as Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, indicates that retrofitting the existing housing stock to boost energy efficiency could generate 50,000 to 185,000 jobs at a cost of $2.2 billion annually.
The Clinton Initiative has launched an Energy Efficiency Buildings Retrofit Programme for 16 of the world’s largest cities—Bangkok, Berlin, Chicago, Houston, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Toronto.
Banks and four the big energy service companies are providing $5 billion for retrofitting of public buildings and incentives for private building owners.
“The sheer number of buildings needing retrofitting is staggering,” says the report.
The US and the EU alone have 250 million such homes.
“It is easy to imagine that a world-wide transition to energy-efficient buildings could create millions or even tens of millions of jobs and green existing employment for many of the 111 million people already working in the sector,” says the report.
Transport
Employment in automobile manufacturing where cars are made to higher energy efficient standards is around 250,000 versus the global employment rate of four million.
Only around 250 people are employed in car sharing businesses in Germany.
Hybrids and plug-ins offers the prospect of greener jobs in the future in for example the battery manufacturing industry.
Greening automobiles also represents green jobs in R and D.
In the United States where fuel efficiency in the automobile sector is among the lowest in the world, jobs could be generated in two ways.
One study there suggests that over 20,000 new jobs could arise in the automotive industry itself in areas like tool and machinery making.
More jobs could be generated in the wider economy. Moving towards a fleet with an efficiency of 35 mpg could generate savings for consumers of $37 billion by 2020 which could be spent in other sectors.
Reversing the decline of rail transport and associated manufacturing of rolling stock might reverse jobs losses and generate more green jobs.
Construction of railways generates more jobs than construction of highways—the lowest job generator of any public infrastructure investment.
In 2003 just 140,000 people were employed in the EU-25 in manufacturing railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock versus around three million in transport equipment generally.
It is estimated that a 10 year-federal investment in high speed rail in the USA could generate 250,000 jobs.
The Oko-Institute in Germany estimates that a doubling of rail and public transport passenger volumes and a more than 70 per cent rise in bicycle use by 2010 would cut Germany’s C02 emissions by a quarter.
There would be job losses of 130,000 in the automobile sector but a rise of 338,000 new jobs in the benefiting transport sectors.
Bus Rapid Transit systems now operate in over 70 cities world-wide including Mexico City where $70 million has been spent on buses, infrastructure, planning and design since 2002.
By 2006, Metrobus operated 80 new buses along a 20 km line with 36 stations. The frequency of service is key and breakdowns need to be minimized.
Thus BRT systems can create new jobs in maintenance and servicing and Decent work for drivers.
There are considerable green job opportunities in retrofitting buses to fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG).
In India’s New Delhi the introduction of over 6,000 CNG buses by 2009 is expected to generate 18,000 new jobs.
Jobs also in installing and servicing that retrofit highly polluting two-stroke engines in two and three-wheeler transport in countries in Asia. (A none-retrofitted two stroke produces emission equivalent to 50 cars!!).
No good figures exist for jobs in the bicycle manufacturing industry. Over 100 million bicycles were produced world-wide in 2005. China made close to 60 per cent in 2004.
In Uganda bicycle taxis called boda bodas number around 200,000 providing employment to previously unemployed youths.
In a sustainable economy there would be less jobs in aviation including manufacturing and air travel services.
This is not a bad thing. Many jobs in aviation are heavily subsidized via exemptions from fuel duty, VAT and duty-free rules.
In the UK, where perhaps 200,000 people are employed in the aviation industry, one study found that subsidies per aviation job run to about $90,000 a year or a total of $18 billion.
Thus the foregone tax revenue could create an equal number of jobs elsewhere.
Recycling
Paper—An estimated 17,000 people are employed in paper reprocessing, collection and sorting in the UK. In Brazil, 28,000 employed.
Around quarter of a million Americans are employed in various parts of the recycled paper sector.
An estimated 10 million people in China are employed in the formal and informal recycling sector. In Cairo, Egypt perhaps 70,000.
However, in many developing countries these are low paid, hazardous jobs. This needs to change.
In the United States employment in recycling is up to 1.3 million people and in Brazil 500,000 people.
In China an estimated 10 million people are employed in all forms of recycling—again many of these jobs are currently questionable in terms of wages, security and health and safety.
Aluminum can recycling in Brazil employs 170,000 people.
Using secondary or recycled materials represents significant energy savings.
For example using recycled aluminum saves 95 per cent of the energy needed if virgin aluminum is made; copper (85 per cent); plastics (80 per cent); steel (74 per cent); lead (65 per cent) and paper (64 per cent).
Recycled steel making also reduces air pollution by 86 per cent and recycled paper reduces pollution to waterways by 35 per cent.
Thus there are wide ranging environmental benefits and perhaps even a greening of employment if pro-recycling policies are pushed. Currently over 40 per cent of steel production is from scrap employing around 200,000 people.
Reusing by-products has potential too. In the US, 3,000 people are employed in slag recovery.
Remanufacturing-is also emerging. Repairing or refurbishing obsolete components and products in say a photo copier or an engine.
It has become big business. In the US it is worth $40 billion a year and employs 480,000 people.
According to the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, remanufacturing operations world-wide save about 10.7 million barrels of oil each year equal to the electricity from five nuclear power plants and save a volume of raw materials equal to 155,000 rail road cars annually.
Food and Agriculture
Sales of organic food globally have surpassed $100 billion with great potential for green jobs growth.
Studies in the UK and the Republic of Ireland indicate that organic farms employ one third more people than conventional farms.
Currently organic farming represents just over four per cent and one per cent of total farmland respectively in the two countries.
If organic farming was 20 per cent of the farmland in both countries, there would be an increase of over 73,000 and over 9,000 jobs respectively.
800 million people are employed in urban agriculture globally and can offer employment for the underemployed in developing world cities.
Sustainable small-scale, smallholder farming is being squeezed by big retailers. Yet it is more labour intensive and environmentally friendly.
With technical and infrastructural support, smalls farms can compete with a big potential for new green jobs and decent work.
Fair Trade products have a role too
A late 1990s study found that wildlife conservation in the UK supports 10,000 full time jobs.
Green jobs too in climate change adaptation including rehabilitation of degraded crop and pasture land.
In forestry, more green jobs can be generated in planting trees if more rigorous labour standards are adopted.
Green and Decent Work too in agroforestry and sustainable forestry management operated under certification schemes—again if the right provisions are in place.
Greening the Work Place
National governments, employers’ organizations and unions are working together on green issues under the theme Just Transition.
In terms of workplace targets for environmental goals, the report suggests the UK is most advanced.
Under an initiative called the TUC’s Green Workplace scheme, six demonstration workplaces are being greened with energy saving a key priority.
In the US there is an initiative with janitors in California who are working with owners of buildings to cut electricity use by 10 per cent—cleaning at night has been reduced and measures include switching off unnecessary lighting, unused computers etc.
. A typical cooperative may have a few dozen new jobs as a result and translated across cooperatives globally could be significant.
The National Cooperative Business Association estimates that in Indonesia 12,000 jobs have been generated as a result of fair-trade exports to the USA.
Green jobs too in payment for restoring or maintaining ecosystem services (Payment for Ecosystem Services). In South Africa 25,000 previously unemployed people now are part of a “Working for Water” initiative.
In Wales a scheme was established to promote sustainable faming in three rural areas. A government study estimates that if the project was replicated across Wales it would generate 1,230 years in full-time jobs (what does this mean?!!).
In New York, the 80,000 local members of the Service Employees International Union, are providing green training to building and maintenance staff including energy and water conservation, chemicals, energy audits and more.
Training or re-training workers to take part in the growth in Green Jobs is also important.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the US cites lack of skilled workers as a barrier to the up take of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The Oakland Green Job Corp begins in autumn 2008 and will train young adults and give hands on experience to take part in the new energy economy. It has $250,000 in seed money from the city council.
Conclusions and Recommendations
“Much of the present optimism around green jobs is justified,” says the report.
“The growth of green employment in many countries is already very significant,” it adds.
If this can be accelerated, then it might bridge the labour divide. According to the ILO the number of unemployed people is at record levels –192 million.
Overall the unemployed and under employed equal one in three of the world’s workers.
Key here is the Greening of the Global Economy.
Imagine if economic stimulus packages and other government and business programmes around the world were truly aimed at spawning a revolution in innovative green technologies—that is they provided funds to retrofit buildings so they no longer require heavy air conditioning in the summer and expensive heating in the winter..
Investment continues to pour into fossil fuels and conventional utility projects eg tar sands extraction in Canada totaled over $55 billion between 1999 and 2006 and a further $100 billion may be invested up to 2015.
Fossil fuels attract global subsidies of up to $250 billion annually (perhaps more under the new UNEP ETB estimates ie up to $300 billion).
Phasing them out could cut greenhouse gas emissions while providing revenues for a transition to green economy and more green jobs.
In developing world, too much aid is still being spent on fossil fuels and large scale hydro.
More funding needs to go into climate adaptation in developing countries—currently only $26 million has been spent multilaterally on this—equivalent to one week’s worth of spending on flood defenses in the UK.
Substantial numbers of Green Jobs could arise if the UNFCCC estimates of $28 billion to $67 billion needed by developing countries by 2030 are met.
UNDP estimate that $44 billion a year will be needed to climate proof investments and infrastructure by 2015; plus a further $40 billion a year to adapt poverty reduction programmes.
Climate-related disaster response could add another $2 billion–$86 billion a year represents around 0.2 per cent of the GDP of developed countries or a tenth of what is spent on defense.
(The report does not explicitly mention Copenhagen 2009—but it is implicit that a deal in 2009 is needed).
Micro financing for renewables is another route.
Making the Clean Development Mechanism more focused on country needs might also assist.
An international and well endowed fund for disseminating clean technologies—as proposed by China—should be examined.
Training will also be key both for Green Job and Green Growth. In many OECD countries, de-industrialization and the off shoring of manufacturing has left a skills shortage in terms of the Green Economy.
Such training can also assist the young, the unemployed and the marginalized into work as the variety of green jobs can suit all from R and D and manufacturing to the supply chain and lagging homes.
