LONDON, ENGLAND — With more businesses and governments worldwide making the commitment to adopt sustainable ways of working, operating, and living, experts unanimously agree that jobs in the green economy will rapidly expand over the next few years.
However, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a UK-based think tank, urged businesses and governments not to get carried away with global competition in this emerging market. Instead, it urged the UK to focus on ensuring green jobs are of high calibre rather than the sheer number of jobs that could be provided.
Quality Over Quantity in Climate Action
“Climate action can be a jobs engine,” said the IPPR in their recent report, “but the UK must focus on quality, not just quantity.”
The organisation’s warning comes as the green economy has already been experiencing intense, rapid growth in just the past two years alone. It was a response to the fact that UK businesses have faced increasing pressure to surpass expectations for job creation in the renewable energy field.
Especially on the heels of the United States passing its Inflation Reduction Act, which paves the way for more of their renewable energy businesses to expand, UK industry leaders have raised concerns that the region could fall behind.
The IPPR’s report served as a gentle reminder to focus on the ways sustainable development can be a tremendous opportunity to provide high-quality jobs rather than merely being a numbers game.
High-Quality Sustainable Jobs
In its report, the IPPR asserted that the green economy boom represents possibly the largest potential for more high-quality jobs than ever.
“IPPR’s own analysis has shown that, in the UK, the transition to a cleaner, healthier future presents one of the biggest opportunities to create high-quality jobs in history,” it said.
“Our analysis suggests that the transition will create approximately 1.68 million jobs by 2035, 780,000 direct jobs and 905,000 indirect jobs in sectors for clean products and services…
“But, equally, IPPR has long recognised the need for these jobs to be high-wage, good-quality jobs.”
In fact, the IPPR said it has been advocating for a “high-quality clean jobs standard” inclusive of wages, terms and conditions, trade union participation, and public investment.
The group noted, “Encouraging high-quality, well-paid jobs not only helps secure more sustained political support, but can help tackle other problems, from low wages to reducing the need for social security support for those in work.”
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