A new report has determined that investments in energy-efficient and
renewable energy sources yield more jobs for a set amount of spending
than investing in maintaining or expanding the fossil fuel industry.
The report, Global Green Growth: Clean Energy Industrial Investment and Expanding Job Opportunities,
was published earlier this week and presented at the Vienna Energy
Forum 2015 by its two authors, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
“Significant progress has already been made in overcoming the
hitherto conventional wisdom that taking steps to cut GHGs is
incompatible with economic growth,” said Yvo de Boer, Director-General
of GGGI. “This report moves the debate another positive step forward by
showing that employment and development result from sustainable, green
growth.”
“As of 2010, total world greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions amounted to
about 45,000 million metric tons (mmt),” the authors of the report open.
“In order to control climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that total emissions will need to fall
by about 40% as of 2030, to 27,000 mmt, and by 80% by 2050, to about
9,000 mmt. Of the 45,000 mmt of total GHG emissions, about 82% are
generated by energy-based sources. This includes 33,615 in CO2 emissions
from energy sources, equaling about 75% percent of total GHG emissions
itself.”
The report aims to provide measures that will reduce CO2 emissions
from energy-based sources by examining policy frameworks through which
these targets can be reached. Focusing on the need for large-scale
development of renewable energy and energy efficiency also allowed the
authors of the report to assess the employment impacts of such
development in five key countries — Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, South
Africa, and the Republic of Korea.
“The results in the five countries presented in this report show
clearly that green growth investments are not just viable or beneficial
for the most highly-industrialized countries,” said LI Yong, Director
General of UNIDO. “On the contrary, all countries, be they developed or
developing, can derive significant benefits from investments in clean
and renewable energy.”
The report was published in two volumes, split between overall
findings and country-specific policy frameworks. Download the full
reports: Global Green Growth Report Volume 1 and Volume 2.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/06/23/investment-renewable-energy-yields-jobs-fossil-fuel-sector/