There is a broad consensus that the inefficient use of resources, increasing energy dependency and unsustainable pressure on the environment and climate change pose challenges to long-term economic growth. Interestingly, a shift towards a resource and energy efficient circular economic model is not only a necessity, but has the potential to increase competitiveness and boost economic growth, while creating more and better jobs in the EU.
Similar to the digital transformation, the greening of the economy will affect employment in specialised sectors, such as the environmental goods and services sector (EGSS) and spread out across the entire economy. There has been considerable job creation in EGSS, where employment in the EU increased from three to four million between 2002 and 2011, including by 20 per cent throughout the recession years of 2007 to 2011. Many studies estimate a significant potential for further employment creation in the production of energy from renewable sources, energy efficiency, waste and water management, air quality, restoring and preserving biodiversity, climate change adaptation and the development of green infrastructure.
"The green transition will bring about fundamental transformations across all sectors - additional employment will be created, some jobs will be replaced and others redefined"
The green transition will bring about fundamental transformations across all sectors - additional employment will be created, some jobs will be replaced and others redefined. The scale of the challenges and opportunities related to the greening of the economy can be illustrated by the EU's annual spending on foreign oil and natural gas imports that reached €400bn or approximately 3.1 per cent of the EU's GDP in 2012. Its dependency on imports is predicted to grow even further to 90 per cent for oil and 80 per cent for natural gas by 2035. Besides, it is estimated that reducing the total material requirement of the EU economy by 24 per cent could boost GDP by up to 3.3 per cent, while creating more than two million jobs.
While investing in a green economy creates new jobs and opens new markets, it is also true that Europe's competitiveness, innovative capacity and productivity strongly depend on the availability of skilled workers. Job creation potential could remain underexploited because of existing and future skills shortages. For example, it is estimated that more than four million workers in the construction sector need up-skilling to meet the 2020 energy efficiency targets. Understanding the labour market and skills implications is therefore necessary in order to better anticipate and manage structural adjustments.
Managing the transition towards a green, low carbon, resource and energy efficient economy successfully calls for joint efforts on the part of the EU, member states and other key stakeholders, including social partners. Employment policies and labour markets at large need to play an active role in supporting creation and transition of jobs and in servicing demand for labour and skills related to green growth. To this end, we should prioritise strengthening the skills intelligence and fostering development of skills in sectors and occupations linked to green growth, together with strengthening the tools for anticipation of change, supporting occupational transitions and intra and inter-sectoral mobility.