São Paulo – Transition to the green economy may generate between 15 million and 60 million new jobs in the world over the next two decades, according to a study disclosed on Thursday (31) by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). According to the report, this transition also has potential to raise "tens of millions" of workers out of poverty. The study was developed by the Green Jobs Initiative, in partnership between the ILO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Trade Union Confederation and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE).
According to the ILO, the transition to the green economy has already started. Some five million people currently operate in the renewable energy sector; more than double the volume operating in the sector from 2006 to 2010.
Approximately 1.5 billion workers, equivalent to half the world’s work force, will be affected by transition to the green economy. These workers are eyeing eight sectors of the economy that will play a central part in the green economy, according to the ILO: agriculture, forestry extraction, fishing, energy, intensive manufacture, recycling, construction and transportation.
The study shows that developing nations have a greater chance of green energy gains than the developed ones. This should take place as emerging nations may invest in the green economy during their phase of growth, while the industrialized nations will have to replace obsolete infrastructure.
In Brazil, for example, approximately three million people already work in the green economy, the equivalent to 7% of the formal work force in the country. In the United States, another three million people work in sectors related to the environment. In Spain, there are approximately 500,000 labourers in the area.
In a press statement disclosed by the ILO, the institution’s director general, Juan Somalia, stated that it is “urgently” necessary to trail the route of sustainable development for a coherent set of policies targeting the planet and people. He said that the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, to take place in June, in Rio de Janeiro, should also cover the importance of labour in the green economy. "Rio+20 will be a crucial moment to make decent work and social inclusion part of any strategy for future development,” he said.
The study shows, however, that jobs in the green economy will only be created and workers will only be inserted into this reality if adequate policies are adopted by companies, government and society. Some of these policies include implementation of sustainable production processes, especially in small and medium companies.
World Bank
Also on Thursday (31), the World Bank disclosed a report in which it states that natural resources in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) may run out in 15 to 20 years if the countries in the region do not adopt policies to guarantee sustainable development.
According to the report, presented at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, in Washington, the region may be victimized by its economic success in recent years. The growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 4% a year, on average, and the 70 million people who left the line of poverty resulted in accelerated urbanisation, making a green future "more difficult".
However, according to the study, countries have adopted measures that involve a “green growth agenda". This is the case with greater garbage collection, implementation of public transportation and replacement of energy sources and incentives to reforestation projects. Another important measure in this process, according to the World Bank, is recovery of degraded urban areas, as is the case in Rio de Janeiro, Lima and Mexico City.
*Translated by Mark Ament
