Full Title: The Green Jobs Advantage: How Climate-friendly Investments Are Better Job Creators
Author(s): Joel Jaeger, Ginette Walls, Ella Clarke, Juan-Carlos Altamirano, Arya Harsono, Helen Mountford, Sharan Burrow, Samantha Smith, Alison Tate
Publisher(s): World Resources Institute (WRI), International Trade Union Confederation, New Climate Economy
Publication Date: October 18, 2021
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Description (excerpt):
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of jobs to be lost globally and has exacerbated inequality. At the same time, addressing climate change is an urgent challenge. Too many governments have funneled money to unsustainable sectors as part of their COVID-19 recovery efforts even though this is not the best job creator and will exacerbate climate change.
This analysis of studies from around the world finds that green investments generally create more jobs per US$1 million than unsustainable investments. It compares near-term job creation effects from clean energy vs. fossil fuels, public transportation vs. roads, electric vehicles vs. internal combustion engine vehicles, and nature-based solutions vs. oil and gas production.
The paper also explores job quality in green sectors. In developing countries, green jobs can offer good wages when they are formal, but too many are informal and temporary, limiting access to work security, safety and social protections. In developed countries, new green jobs can provide avenues to the middle class, but may have wages and benefits that aren’t as high as those in traditional sectors where, in many cases, workers have been able to fight for job quality through decades of collective action.