Green Jobs - A New Job Market Revolution

Climate change, ozone hole and other emerging environment-related issues have made the market shift positively towards ‘Green Jobs’ which, according to Forbes, are the next big thing in the job market. This new job market revolution is soon going to impact developing countries like India as well; paradigm shifts will be taking place for job aspirants to opt for a green collar job.

‘Millions of new jobs are among the many silver, if not indeed gold-plated, linings on the cloud of climate change’, says Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A background paper prepared by the UNEP discusses the diverse and multifarious policy initiatives relating to climate change that are being implemented at various levels of government and society. These initiatives are likely to have employment consequences and the pace of green job creation is likely to accelerate in the years ahead. It is expected that a transition from a high carbon consuming to low carbon consuming and a more sustainable economy will result in the creation of a large number of green jobs across many sectors of the economy and also contribute greatly to the sustainable development movement. In another report by the UN, it was observed that climate change is creating millions of ‘green jobs’ in sectors from solar power to biofuels that will slightly exceed layoffs elsewhere in the economy. This new revolution came into being as a conclusion to natural happenings like environmental imbalances and global warming, which perhaps is the first revolution of its kind. All the other revolutions galvanised in the past, such as the growth of Information Technology, was a result of sectoral variations.
It is argued that stricter environmental policies may result in a reduction of jobs; it must be noted that employment losses from not addressing the environmental crisis are likely to be far more serious: resource depletion, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and floods and droughts induced by climate change will exact ever-growing costs and increasingly undermine the viability of many businesses and livelihoods in agriculture. Therefore, any apprehension that global or regional measures to combat climate change will lead to a significant reduction in jobs seems unfounded. A study conducted by the European Trade Union suggests that there will be major transitions in the labour market, but that there should be a small gain in total employment rather than a loss. Measures to promote ethanol production in Brazil, for example, had created 500,000 jobs. In China, 150,000 people were employed in solar heating, a sector with sales revenues of $2.5 billion in 2005. The environmental industry in the US employed more than 5.3 million people in 2005, according to a UNEP statement.

A Theoretical Construct of the Term ‘Green Jobs’

A joint UNEP, ILO and ITUC ‘Green Jobs Initiative’ Preliminary Report, prepared by the Worldwatch Institute, titled Green Jobs: Towards Sustainable Work in a Low-Carbon World’ defines ‘green jobs’ as ‘positions in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development, administrative, and service activities aimed at alleviating the myriad environmental threats faced by humanity’. The Report proposes the idea that there will be different ‘shades of green’ in employment. For instance, pollution prevention has different implications than pollution control, as does public transport versus fuel-efficient automobiles; or efficient buildings vis-a-vis retrofits/renovations. Although the most efficient and least polluting options should receive higher priority, these are not either-or choices, as all of the options are needed to bring about a more sustainable, low-carbon economy. Nonetheless, they do suggest different ‘shades of green’ in employment.
 
Greater efficiency in the use of energy, water and materials is a core objective. The critical question is where to draw the line between efficient and inefficient practices. A low threshold will define a greater number of jobs as green but may, in the process, give an illusion of progress. Given technological progress and the urgent need for improvement, the dividing line between efficient and inefficient must rise over time. Hence, ‘green jobs’ is a relative and highly dynamic concept.

Key Drivers of Green Jobs

As for the drivers of green employment, the UNFCCC has estimated that US$200-210 billion will go annually into mitigation by 2030 and tens of billions into adaptation. Given this magnitude of investments for the future, it is essential that a green jobs strategy be in place to ensure that these investments create the green jobs and workplaces that are essential for a low-carbon society.

Green employment creation is often due to the conscious decisions of companies to adopt more sustainable business practice. Another reason is recognition by venture capital firms that clean technology development offers significant business opportunities. An imperative point is that each green job contributes to the greening of jobs in other parts of the economy. The creation of green employment in key parts of the economy has the potential to ‘radiate’ across large sections of the economy, hence greening commensurately large sections of the total workforce.

Need for Job Training

While investment to create green jobs is one side of the job’s coin, training and skill building is the other. Both are necessary to bring forth green employment to its full potential. The best approach – whether to focus on trade schools, universities, on-the-job training in the workplace or some other arrangement – will vary from country to country, given the different educational systems.

Solid research and development, engineering, and manufacturing capacities are a critical aspect of building green industries and jobs. Some occupations in the renewables sector or in energy efficiency for instance require highly educated and even quite specialised personnel, including a variety of technicians, engineers, and skilled tradesmen. In some cases, specialisation has progressed to the point where universities need to consider offering entirely new study fields or majors. ‘Green careers’ are no longer just for those with a background in biology. They have expanded to people with social science backgrounds, to economics and business. Moreover, green employment is not limited to high end skills. There are many positions that demand an array of skill and experience levels.

There is an increasing need for ‘green collar’ training in a broad range of occupations besides the most highly educated positions. This is important both to prepare the workforce at large for the skill requirements inherent in green jobs and to ensure that green industries and workplaces do not face a shortage of adequately trained workers. It is also essential from the point of view of connecting green jobs with social equity.

It is necessary to give the capacity to the participants to be leaders and to manage ‘Youth in Action’ projects in order to develop personal, collective, cultural, environmental and aggregative growth within the subject of sustainable development, both for the young people and their origins, especially considering the presence of a partner coming from South East Europe, to put in practise and promote some common awareness activities in each of the communities involved.
 
‘Green Jobs’ in University Education

University campuses serve as perfect renewable energy role models for other institutions, and from there, for cities and states. They also understand that as tuition-paying students, they have a huge amount of leverage in influencing their campuses to ‘go green’. By purchasing solar and wind power, these campuses prove that there is indeed a real market for alternative energy, and businesses that produce that energy are motivated to set up shop. For example, in 2001, the University of Pennsylvania made the largest retail purchase of wind energy in the nation, buying 7% of what two local 24-megawatt wind farms produced annually. Subsequently, the Spanish company Gamesa located its headquarters in Keystone State, and brought with it a manufacturing plant and 1,000 new jobs.
 
The Campus Climate Challenge is a movement spanning more than 540 colleges and still growing. One can see the widespread effect of individual college initiatives on states in particular and the country as a whole. The students’ demands, under the 1 Sky Platforms, are threefold:

1. A Clean Energy Corps: Create five million green jobs
2. Reduce US CO2 emissions at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, and reduce emissions by 30% by 2020
3. Transform energy priorities to renewables, with a moratorium on all new coal plants.
 
Green Jobs: Present and Future

The greening of industry is creating a constellation of new careers. Many of them are environmental twists on old professions, like law or journalism. Others are engineering careers tied to research in renewable technologies like wind energy and ethanol production.

The rationale being put forward for the emergence of these new areas is essentially that corporations assume that at some point in the future governments will put a price on waste. So, it is better to invest now in clean technologies than to lose money if new regulations come into play.

The good news for green-minded job seekers is that the possibilities are endless. Whether one has a knack for business, science, construction or advocacy, a job in the ‘green economy’ exists.

Careers in Green Jobs

Some green jobs with growth potential include:
1. Emissions Trader: In a market economy, credits to emit greenhouse gases can be traded on an exchange, and brokers facilitate the deal. Carbon markets are booming in Europe, driven by the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, a programme that allows countries to meet their targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
 
2. Sustainability Manager/Corporate Sustainability Officer: Dozens of corporations have pledged to help the environment through their business practices; hence they are paying attention to how their business affects the environment. They recognise that taking care of environmental issues is integral to their business, and the need is on for employees with a flair for business as well as environmental science.

3. Sustainability Analyst: Just as corporations are hiring managers to ensure that they engage in sustainable business practices, many financial firms are examining sustainability on an industry wide basis.

4. Climate Risk Analyst: The insurance industry stands to be greatly affected by climate change, and many companies are now offering policies to promote energy efficiency and help reduce global warming.
 
5. Ecological Economist: Economists put a price tag on, among other things, the ecosystem as well. They determine, for example, what a tonne of carbon dioxide pollution costs, or the economic value of keeping rainforest intact.

6. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Professional (Sector: Natural Resources): Managing a forest for sustainable logging, protecting a species from extinction or preventing pollution of a local watershed are conservation challenges that can benefit from GIS technology.
 
7. Bio-Mimicry Engineer/Biologist: This new branch of science uses nature as a model to solve engineering problems. For example, the Australian company Biosignal uses seaweed as a model to develop technologies that repel bacteria rather than kill them.

8. Renewable Fuels Engineer/Biologist: The financial rewards associated with the development of renewable fuels are driving much of the business community’s investment in the environment.
 
9. Green Architect and Green Interior Designer: One of the most attractive fields for green jobs is the green building industry. Architecture and engineering firms, government agencies, construction companies, everyone knows the meaning and need for a green building. In addition, one of the latest jobs is that of the ‘green’ interior designer. A green remodel includes thinking about interior air quality as well as the natural resources used to make everything from couches to countertops. The green building industry has, until recently, essentially focused on building new commercial structures and remodeling the existing ones in ways that put less strain on energy and water supplies.

10. Sustainable Planner (Sector: Urban Planning): Local and state governments struggling to maintain growing cities with limited resources, growing populations and crumbling infrastructure need land use planners who understand environmental and social issues ranging from poverty to climate change.

11. Sustainable Engineer (Sector: Industrial Design): Irrespective of the products they manufacture - be it circuit boards or running shoes - more and more businesses need engineers who can design and make products that do not hurt the environment.
 
12. Extension Agent (Sector: Sustainable Agriculture): The ‘green’ revolution has had a tremendous impact on the food industry. Organic farming has been among the fastest growing segments of the agricultural industry in the US in the last 10 years.

13. Environmental Lawyer: With growing concern about global warming and fossil fuels, companies, governments and non profit organisations are all clamoring for guidance on topics such as land use, pollution control, protection of the natural environment, energy efficiency, and regulation.

14. Lobbyist: As businesses face increased environmental legislation, corporations will seek help from lawmakers in the form of tax breaks and grants to pursue clean technology investments. Hence, a greater presence of lobbyists working in the energy and environmental fields can be expected.

15. Cleantech Industries Entrepreneur (Sector: Start-up): One exciting way to jump on the green bandwagon is to start a business. There are many niches to fill, from making organic clothing to offering advice on green living, to making eco-friendly home products and furnishings. Clean tech businesses provide products, services and processes in industries ranging from alternative energy and energy efficiency to transportation and agriculture that do not harm the environment and ‘improve the productive and responsible use of natural resources’.

Conclusion: Formidable Obstacles

Presently, green jobs are simply not growing rapidly enough, when viewed against the enormous tasks facing human society in terms of achieving a truly sustainable, low-carbon and more equitable world. There are certain inescapable obstacles that need to be addressed. Green employment has gained an important foothold in the developed world, but with the major exception of Brazil and China, it is still quite exceptional in most developing countries. These are the countries that account for almost 80% of the world’s workforce. In India, the green job boom isn’t actually prevalent in a formal way, for there is very little orientation for youngsters towards this particular aspect. It is important for a country like India to be aware of this revolution, for its contribution in the longer run in this aspect will be indispensible.
 
Lastly, the emergence of green jobs inside a global labour market is still largely driven by conventional job creation. The rising level of informality in the global economy constitutes a major challenge to green job growth. Moreover, the chronic and worsening level of inequality, both within and between countries, is a major hindrance. The effort to advance decent work and pro-poor sustainable development is critical to building green jobs across the developing world in particular. q

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