Scientists from the NewClimate Institute predict that nearly one million new green jobs will be created in China, the US and the European Union by 2030 if the regions pursue their current pledges to curb global warming.
According to an article by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, more than 3 million jobs would be created if the three regions succeed in producing all their energy from renewable sources by 2050. They would also save around USD 520 billion per year in fossil fuel imports.
These are some of the findings of a study by the NewClimate Institute, an environmental research group based in Germany. The study assessed the benefits that would be achieved by the climate pledges – known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or INDCs – that countries are drafting in the lead up to the new global climate change agreement to be finalised at a U.N. conference in Paris in December.
The study only examined the potential job benefits of creating wind, solar and hydropower energy systems, the article explains. It did not look at retrofitting old buildings to make them more energy efficient, which means that the total number of jobs would likely be much higher than 1 billion, co-author Niklas Hoehne told the Thomas Reuters Foundation.
The study also did not take into account the number of jobs that will be lost in petroleum-related industries.
Photo credit: Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
