Solutions to Climate Change: Growing Decent Jobs

In a interactive panel discussion, the United Nations Economic and Social Council looked at how climate change challenges could be met through creating decent jobs.

Michael Renner, Senior Researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, who moderated the panel, “Solutions to Climate Change: Growing Decent Jobs,” said that the link between climate challenges and decent work was clear. Economic prosperity depended on a stable climate and healthy economic systems. With the right policies in place, the shift to a sustainable economy could increase job production and social inclusion.

The panel discussion is available to watch in full here.

In a summary from the Economic and Social Council:
Robert Pollin, Professor at the Political Economy Research Institute of the University of Massachusetts, said that a 1.5 per cent annual investment in clean energy over and above other investments would result in a 40 per cent reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions.  It would also create a significant net value impact on employment, even allowing for the 30 to 40 per cent contraction in the fossil fuel sector, because producing renewable energy was more labour intensive.  That investment would mitigate the need to import energy sources, as renewable energy was generally produced domestically, thus energizing local economies.  He estimated a net gain of some 150 per cent in job creation per $1 million of expenditure.

Mr. Pollin, summarizing his research on a macroeconomic agenda to achieve climate stabilization and to build green economies globally, said that a global investment strategy of about 1.5 per cent annually in clean energy over and above other investments would result in a 40 per cent reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions and achieve the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emissions target.  It would also greatly expand employment opportunities in all regions.  Investing in clean energy was cost-effective.  Clean energy investments were either now at or were approaching cost parity with fossil fuels, with the exception of solar.  Solar remained more expensive, but with each doubling of its use, the cost was significantly reduced and would eventually reach parity.

There would be a significant net value impact on employment, even allowing for the 30 to 40 per cent contraction in the fossil fuel sector, he said, because producing renewable energy was more labor intensive. It was also generally produced domestically, resulting in less need for exported energy and the energizing of local economies. He estimated a net gain of some 150 per cent in job creation per $1 million of expenditure.  However, that alone would not solve the job problem, as that gain was only 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).  He stressed that it would significantly improve the quality of jobs in the agricultural sector, primarily due to biomass energy, would move jobs from the informal to the formal economy and promote gender equality.  Noting that there would be a loss of jobs in the fossil fuel sector, he stressed the need to prepare those workers for new jobs, which could be planned for as the contraction would be known in advance.