The Green Jobs Initiative

• Explore the business and employment opportunities that environmental protection

and sustainable development may yield in the future

• Provide a global review of the quantity, types and drivers of “green jobs” in several
sectors:
– energy supply alternatives,
– energy efficiency,
– transportation,
– agriculture and
– efficient use of raw materials/energy/water

• Link the global review to the global environmental challenge of climate change

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 Green Jobs …

… are jobs … that help to protect and restore ecosystems

and biodiversity, reduce energy consumption,
decarbonize the economy, and minimize or altogether
avoid the generation of all forms of waste and pollution.

Green Jobs - More than meets the eye

Renewable energy sector; energy performance service

New Job Creation
companies; mobility services

Mining; packaging (materials discouraged or banned)

Elimination
Net employment effects ?

Shifting from fossil fuels to renewables, automobiles to

Substitution mass transit, waste disposal to recycling, primary metals
production to secondary production

Existing jobs greened along with changed workplace

Transformation practices and methods
Supply-chain effects (steel for wind turbines)

Greening core areas (energy, transport) has potential to

‘Radiating Out’ “radiate” downstream across large sections of the
economy

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 Shades of Green

Energy Supply / Use Transportation

Low-sulfur fuels, etc. + Alternative-fuel vehicles +

Carbon sequestration ++ More fuel-efficient vehicles ++

Renewable energy sources +++ Public transit +++

Greater energy efficiency +++ Walking, biking; shorter distances +++

Manufacturing Materials Management

Pollution control (end of pipe) + Recycling +

Clean production (toxics avoidance) ++ Product take-back; remanufacturing ++

Cradle-to-cradle (closed loop) +++ De-materialization +++

Greater durability, repairability +++

Drivers and Obstacles

Drivers Obstacles

Evolving climate science and public awareness Insufficient green R&D / Wrong kind of R&D
/ pressure (energy)

Rising oil prices Insufficient green Investment

Consumer incentives / information (eco- Continued fossil fuel subsidies / multilateral

labeling) financing

Government toolbox (incentives, mandates, tax Limited technology transfer

& subsidy policies)

Business innovation Lagging skills development

Economic recession

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 Findings: potential sectors and estimates
Renewable energy

Renewable Global Employment in Selected

Energy Employment Countries
Source Estimates

Wind Power 300,000 Germany 82,100

U.S. 36,800
Spain 35,000
China 22,200
Denmark 21,000

Solar PV 170,000 China 55,000

Germany 35,000
Spain 26,450
U.S. 15,700

Solar 624,000 + China 600,000

Germany 13,300
Thermal
Spain 9,100
US 1,900

Biofuels / 1,174,000 + Brazil 500,000

US 312,200
Biomass
China 266,000
Germany 95,400

TOTAL 2,332,000 (includes small hydro and geothermal)

Findings: potential sectors and estimates

Energy efficiency

• 3.5 million direct jobs created in the U.S. in

2006 in energy efficiency in buildings, including
lighting, heating and cooling equipment,
electronics appliances

• 4.5 million indirect jobs created in the U.S. in

2006 in energy efficiency in buildings and
vehicles, including recycling industry, vehicle
manufacturing and construction

• Replacing traditional cook stoves with advanced

biomass cooking technologies in 9 million
households could create 150,000 jobs in India

Direct jobs in green building and the retrofitting process:

• Green designers and architects
• Auditors
• Engineers
• Estimators Indirect jobs:
• Project managers • Administration and consulting for green building and energy
efficiency projects
• Trade: pipe fitters, sheet metal workers, heating-ventilation and cooling,
technicians, engineers, electricians, and general construction workers

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 Findings: potential sectors and estimates

Waste management / recycling

• 60 counties worldwide employ more

than 1.5 million workers (with
exception of community recycling and
composting programmes) and 10
million are believed to be involved in
all forms of recycling in China –
informal sector

• 28,000 employed in paper processing,

collection and sorting in Brazil

• 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

But are they all decent jobs?

Findings: potential sectors and estimates

Sustainable transport
• 800,000 green auto industry jobs
(based on data from Europe, Japan,
South Korea, and the U. S.)

• Introduction of 6,100 hybrid-electric

buses in New Delhi by 2009 is
expected to yield 18,000 new jobs

• Moving towards a fleet with an

efficiency of 35 mpg could generate
$37 billion savings for consumers by
2020

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 Findings: potential sectors and estimates

Organic agriculture
• Employ 135 % more full time workers
per farm than conventional farms in the
U.K. and the Republic of Ireland –
projections showed if 20 % of farm land
became organic in both countries, there
would be an increase of 73,200 jobs in
the UK and 9,200 in the Republic of
Ireland

Green jobs in developing countries

• High potential

• Numerous cases and pilot projects demonstrate the scope and potential for green
jobs in developing countries – on a limited scale

• 50% of jobs reported in the renewable energy are in developing countries – data
availability and reliability

• Opportunities for managers, scientists, technicians – left out: youth, women, farmers,
rural populations, slum dwellers

• Clean economic growth, development and poverty reduction depend on the quality of
jobs – e.g. informal sector, recycling, building and construction, biofuels

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 Green jobs and development:
policy options for the attainment of MDG 7

• The investment agenda:

– public-private funding to foster green jobs creation at local/national level e.g.
organic and drought-resistant (water-efficient) farming methods;
– carbon pricing and new financial architecture to build effective carbon markets to
facilitate mobilization of resources for innovation and investments in cleaner
technologies;

• Need for government action:

– policy frameworks: environmental and social full-cost pricing of energy and
materials inputs to discourage unsustainable patterns of production and
consumption
– commitments under the Kyoto Protocol to spur development of the carbon
market for mobilizing financing for mitigation
– identify appropriate forms of financing that match the ability of the poor to pay for
cleaner energy

• Green R&D and technology transfer

Green vs. Decent jobs

Green, but not decent Green and decent
Examples: Examples:

¾ Electronics recycling without  ¾ Unionized wind and solar power 
adequate occupational safety jobs
¾ Low‐wage installers of solar panels ¾ Green architects
Environment

¾ Exploited biofuel plantation  ¾ Well‐paid public transit workers
laborers

Neither green nor decent Decent, but not green
Examples: Examples:

¾ Coal mining with inadequate  ¾ Unionized car manufacturing 
safety workers
¾ Women workers in cut flower  ¾ Chemical engineers
industry ¾ Airline pilots
¾ Hog slaughterhouse workers  

Decent Work

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 Fair transition

• More green jobs created than jobs • Active labor market policies and
lost broad social protections:
– income protection
– adequate retraining and
• Major shift in employment patterns educational opportunities
and skills profiles – resources for relocation
– strengthening of small and
medium sized enterprises
– jobs for those who need them
most (youth, women, poor, etc.)

• Value both nature and people, and

create decent and adequately paid
jobs

Remaining challenges ..

• How do we promote green jobs? How do we create more green jobs?

• How do we ensure that green jobs are decent jobs?

• How do we secure political will to make the transformation to a low carbon

economy a reality and drag billions out of poverty by securing decent
employment?

• How will the necessary financial resources to ensure clean technologies’ transfers
to developing countries, and a strong support to small and medium-sized
enterprises be mobilized?

• How will the training and skills development gaps / needs be addressed in the
transition to a low carbon economy?

• How do we compile/collect operational data in key sectors, countries / regions?

(gender, informal sector, “youth” employment, etc.)

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www.unep.org/labour_environment/features/greenjobs.asp