The European Commission (EC) has identified a green economy as a key opportunity for a ‘job-rich’ recovery in Europe in proposals announced yesterday (18 April), with future water challenges helping job creation.
With European Union (EU) unemployment at record highs, the employment package contains several measures designed to boost job creation with the green economy being earmarked as having good job potential for the future.
The package urges EU Member States to: “Exploit the big job potential areas for the future such as the green economy where 20 million jobs could be created between now and 2020 and to include green employment into their’ National Job Plans, strengthening green skills intelligence.”
A document entitled ‘Exploiting the employment potential for green growth’, which accompanies the EC employment proposals, informs and advances ideas on how to build a competitive, low carbon and resource efficient economy in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy.
Climate change - heightening the risk of floods and drought - and the pressures on water supply will drive demand for more jobs in the construction sector as the planet takes adaptive measures, according to the document.
“Construction will be one of the sectors directly benefiting from this as major investments in adaptation could offer employment and income opportunities in activities such as extending coastal defences, reinforcing buildings and infrastructures, water management and relocation of exposed settlements. Other activities will also gain, such as the development and manufacture of advanced water management technologies; development, distribution, and cultivation of drought-resistant seeds; development of ecosystem based adaptation measures; integrated modelling and climate risk assessment; or development of early warning systems.”
Environmental factors will also drive job creation in a green economy in order to achieve the objectives of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy.
The document states:
“Conserving, managing and restoring the natural environment will push up demand for workers in sustainable agriculture and forestry, eco-tourism, sustainable fisheries, the marine environment, environmental monitoring, nature conservation, forestry, use of genetic resources (pharmaceutical, cosmetic), spatial planning for green infrastructures, and more resource efficient methods of managing maritime space. The numbers of jobs provided directly and indirectly by biodiversity and ecosystem services is significant – in the EU they are projected at 14.6 million of people.”
Yet in order for a green economy to become reality, several obstacles must be overcome.
The employment package has identified a well-functioning labour market as a prerequisite for a successful green transition and there is also the challenge of skills obsolescence and displacement costs. However, growing sectors such as green technology may offer opportunities to use skills acquired from workers employed in declining sectors.
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