United Nations leaders would work diligently to map out an agreement by the end of 2009 to limit global greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impact of climate change and provide the money and technology necessary to do so, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today during its high-level debate entitled "Addressing Climate Change: The United Nations and the World at Work"...
Change is in the air for a low-carbon economy
As environment ministers from some 100 countries meet here Feb. 20-22 for the U.N. Environment Program's Governing Council and Environmental Forum, talks will focus on environmentally friendly "green growth" and ways by which the world can achieve a low-carbon economy.
The employment and development potential of combating climate change is only now being understood as a part of this effort. UNEP has invited the International Labor Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation to contribute to these discussions.
Changes underway are a result of the Kyoto Protocol, but they are also partly being made in anticipation of deeper emission cuts to come. Equally important, the perception of organized labor and industry concerning environmental issues is changing dramatically. Environmental regulation was sometimes viewed with suspicion and concern for business and labor. Now, business sees profits and unions see jobs.
Consider these facts:
A Washington-based consulting firm estimates that the U.S. environmental industry generated more than $340 billion in sales and almost $50 billion in tax revenues in 2005. The 5.3 million workers in the environmental industry outnumber pharmaceutical workers 10 to one.
A British company specializing in improving the energy efficiency of homes was floated on the London Stock Exchange last June and now employs 4,000 people who once worked in nearby, now closed, coal mines.
A study prepared for the German Ministry of Environment estimates that employment in the German environmental technology industries will surpass employment in the automobile industry by 2020.
China has some 1,000 solar thermal energy firms, generating sales of $2.5 billion and employing 600,000 workers in manufacturing and installation.
The Indian city of Delhi is introducing new eco-friendly compressed natural-gas buses, which will create 18,000 new jobs.
These trends seem set to continue. The UNEP's Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative estimates that investment in renewable energy has reached $100 billion worldwide, or 18 percent of new investment in the power sector. The initiative, which involves some 170 financial institutions, also estimates that market financing for clean and renewable energies could reach $1.9 trillion by 2020.
International efforts are now beginning to bear fruit. The Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol could channel $100 billion in funds for investment in carbon offsetting projects such as renewable energy schemes and tree planting. The Bali conference last year agreed to include avoided deforestation in tropical countries into a new climate regime, which could generate new employment opportunities in sustainable management, conservation, and tourism. Several countries, including Costa Rica, Norway, and New Zealand, have pledged carbon neutrality, which in turn will require investment and employment in carbon-friendly sectors...
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