Green Job Creation

[Oscar]

Green Job Creation

http://action.clc-ctc.ca/en/Green_Job_Creation

Published on Canadian Labour Congress / Congres du travail (http://action.clc-ctc.ca)

Created 2005-03-31 05:00

What Are Green Jobs?

Green jobs are jobs in a sustainable economy. A sustainable economy is one which makes lower demands on natural resources; which is much more energy efficient; which uses energy from renewable sources; and which does not generate damaging pollution and wastes. A sustainable economy is labour-intensive, producing long-lasting, durable jobs.

Green jobs are also jobs which contribute to environmental protection, such as the manufacture and installation of pollution control equipment or recycling plants. These are known as environmental industries and they employ about 123,000 workers in Canada.

The job-creating potential of a sustainable economy is large: a Canadian estimate of the employment impact of effective measures to combat climate change indicates two million new jobs created over fifteen years. It has been calculated that it takes 100 workers in a nuclear plant or 116 workers in a coal-fired plant to generate 1,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. Yet, 248 would be employed in a solar thermal facility or 542 in a wind farm to generate the same amount of electricity.

Examples of Green Jobs

- jobs in the "environmental infrastructure" such as sewage treatment plants, renewable energy systems, and waste reduction facilities;
- jobs through public investment in bike paths, public transit, commuter and inter-urban rail systems;
- retrofits of public, commercial, and private buildings to reduce water and energy use;
- jobs in the "natural production cycle" such as growing industrial hemp and the use of vegetable inks and cutting fluids;
- jobs in silviculture and sustainable agriculture, with minimal use of chemical pesticides.

How Do We Get a Green Economy?

- political action for a green industrial strategy and the green screening of industrial projects;
- workplace action, such as collective bargaining for Pollution Prevention, energy efficiency, and waste reduction;
- environmental regulation which creates jobs in environmental protection and the public service; regulation also forces innovation which gives industrial plants a longer life;
- ecological tax reform with high taxes and the abolition of subsidies on unsustainable practices, plus positive financial incentives to encourage green industries;
- creation of environmental funds, such as the National Atmospheric Fund, to finance job-creating measures over climate change and global warming;
- alliances with the youth and environmental movements to make green job creation a part of the social agenda for the next generation.

The National Campaign to Promote Employer Provided, Tax-Exempt Transit passes

This campaign, with the leadership of the Amalgamated Transit Union, aims to make employer provided transit passes tax-exempt. Under the Kyoto Protocol (1997), Canada is committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below 1990 levels by 2012. Transportation is the largest, single source of Canadian greenhouse gas emissions. Exemption of employer provided transit passes from taxation is expected to result in a shift to mass transit of 5%. This will reduce or slow the growth of emissions by about 2% and result in more service sector jobs.

Obstacles

Green job creation is a positive thing. Green jobs are usually cleaner, safer, healthier, and more durable than jobs in the traditional economy. But there are cautions and there have to be safeguards:

- green jobs must be union jobs, with a public sector infrastructure;
- not all green jobs are high-paying quality jobs, which can only be achieved if they are union jobs;
- the conversion to a sustainable economy will mean job losses in traditional industries. Green job creation will not be possible without

© 2009 Canadian Labour Congress