Green jobs

This study was commissioned by Practical Action Nepal Office, under the PRISM (Poverty Reduction of Informal Workers in Solid Waste Management Sector) project. Practical Action aims to reduce poverty in developing countries by introducing appropriate technologies for the communities, demonstrating results, sharing knowledge, building capacity to replicate and influencing others for scaling up. Through the PRISM Project, Practical Action aims to improve the living conditions of the informal waste workers (IWWs) and enhance the social protection of the vulnerable groups dependent on solid waste for their livelihoods in five municipalities of Kathmandu Valley. As a part of the PRISM Project, Practical Action commissioned two country studies of Social Protection for Informal Waste Workers. The first study was commissioned for Philippines and the second study for India. The studies were to be based solely on existing secondary sources . It is expected that the study of policies and practices in India and the lessons emerging from it would help Practical Action advocate better policies and practices in Nepal, thereby leading to better social protection for IWWs in Nepal.

Shifting to a low-carbon electricity future requires up-to-date information on the energetic, environmental and socioeconomic performance of technologies. Here, we present a novel comprehensive bottom-up process chain framework that is applied to 19 electricity generation technologies, consistently incorporating 12 life-cycle phases from extraction to decommissioning. For each life-cycle phase of each technology the following 4 key metrics were assessed: material consumption, energy return ratios, job requirements and greenhouse gas emissions. We also calculate a novel global electricity to grid average for these metrics and present a metric variability analysis by altering transport distance, load factors, efficiency, and fuel density per technology. This work quantitatively supports model-to-policy frameworks that drive technology selection and investment based on energetic-economic viability, job creation and carbon emission reduction of technologies. The results suggest energetic-economic infeasibility of electricity generation networks with substantial shares of: i) liquefied natural gas transport, ii) long distance transport based hard and brown coal and pipeline natural gas, and iii) low-load factor solar-photovoltaic, Page 2 of 37 concentrated solar power, onshore and offshore wind. Direct sector jobs can be expected to double in renewable-majority scenarios. All combustion-powered technologies without natural (biomass) or artificial carbon capture (fossil fuels) are not compatible with a low carbon electricity generation future.

This dissertation explores the development of a human capital concept that is here referred to as “green footprint competence” among workers and members of organizations that position themselves as “green”, “organic”, or “environmental solutions providers”. The research
contributes to the studies of social and environmental change by analysing three aspects of this change: a) the institutionalisation of the global green and low-carbon discourses as values, norms, and discursive practices within organizations in Kyrgyzstan and China; b) the
emergence of the green organizational identity; c) and the development of the new competences for the climate change adaptation and mitigation along with the “green identity” of workers and members of greening organizations. The key argument formed as a result of this research is that the development of standards for measuring and reporting of the Personal and Organizational consumption of Earth Resources (i.e.,. personal and organizational carbon and/or ecological footprints), requires a more democratic and inherently more participative approach through developing green competences of organizations’ workers. Would the democratization of the carbon emissions
MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification) make the emissions figures (reported and used in investment and trade decisions) more reliable and grounded? Does not the tendency of organizations to advance performative interpretations of their environmental and social
responsibilities in the quest of staying competitive and enact greenness actually prevent environmental conduct that reduces carbon? Often the organizational infrastructure and incentives are set in such a way that it discourages the pursuit of de-carbonization. Instead “being green” becomes a negotiable and a transient state, in which reported greenness is a result of a multitude of interpretations and data bending in order to fit in the new green economy club or to become if not the leader of de-carbonization then at least a member of a supply chain of a “green” industry leader. The genuine belief in the virtues of being green and acting green becomes negligible in value as company leaders face the large suppliers or partners in the value chain. The large members of value chains had negotiated their “greenness” through an enactment of the environmental conduct in Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting and Carbon compliance reporting to fit the bill of the global financial communities. While at the top of this “green” pyramid are the global development and investment banks that are in a rush to reap the benefits of the emerging green economy trough formulating “green” or “sustainable” requirements and regulation, within their global “business and economy clubs”.

In recent years, climate change and excessive use of natural resources obligated the decision makers to divert their economical decisions towards sustainable development goals, including green economy. Green jobs –green employment is a related new concept in the world and in our country; providingalso socioeconomic benefits by changing welfare regimes.UNEP defines a green economy as the one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks. This new approach leadthe decision makers to search for sustainable development strategies coveringgreen economy and green jobs. Green jobs–green employment is a very new concept in the world of job creation; providing economic and socioeconomic benefits by increasing economic growth and development rates and also positively changing the level of welfare in the societies, while reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.During the campaign period of 2008 Presidential election, there was an importance put on green jobs by the candidates and President dedicated $150 billion to be spent in the following ten years to develop the green job sector; Rio+20 Declaration (2012) attracted attention to the efficiency of eradicating poverty and inequality by putting green economy and its tools, they were specified asincreasing potential of green jobs in 8 main sectors, which all had close relationship to environmental sustainability: agriculture, forestry, fisheries, renewable energy, resource intensive manufacturing, recycling, construction, and transportation. Provision of 15-60 million additional employment opportunities in the next 20 years were predicted globally. In Navarre Region of Spain, for instance, 183% increasein employment rate was observed at renewable energy sector between 2002 and 2006 years, where 100 companies were established in 2007, and approximately 6.000 jobs were created too. In spite of the economical crisis in 2009, lowest unemployment level was experienced in this area of the country. In the Tenth Development Plan (2014-2018) issued in Turkey, attention was drawn to the importance of green growth and rising investment on R&D in related innovative technologies, and stimulating the green job potential of industrial sector. In the scope of 2011-2013 Climate Change Action Plan of Turkey, standardization of building energy management systems and related incentives, includingits contribution to green employment, to mitigation of global warming, and finally developing human resources were mentioned. In this articles; green economy and green employment will be analyzed on sectoral basis and experiences of some countries will be shared in the scope of the present study, evaluation of the investments made and the benefits obtained from green economy.

Industrialization has gained momentum after the World War II. In the process, sustainable development as an offspring of the post-war era and the succeeding green economy have brought a new dimension to the notion of development. The order of green economy, which could be described as an idea of endowing the basic concepts such as economic growth, industrial production, consumption, prosperity and enrichment with a brand new meaning, holds that a worldwide income growth could be achieved via efficient use of renewable resources. At the same time, this new order suggests that public resources should be used for the welfare of humans and natural environment. This new discourse of green economy also suggests that new areas of employment called green jobs will emerge.
As distinct from the long discussed endeavors in protecting nature and fighting against environmental pollution, the discourse of a new order as a counter action against industrialization and development is an extension of the ecological world view, which is itself an anti-thesis of the mechanical world view.
In this context, the purpose of the study is reveal the content, strategies and innovations of the green economy against the traditional approaches towards growth and development.

The latest LIFE Focus brochure shows just how the EU’s fund for environment, nature and climate protection is doing this. Produced to coincide with the EU Green Jobs Summit in Brussels, the brochure echoes the theme of Green Week 2017: “Green Jobs for a Greener Future”.
LIFE greening jobs and growth focuses on the people that have found new employment or developed new green skills thanks to LIFE. Their stories bring home the important contribution the LIFE programme has made to green growth.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has led to the transformation of rural India through the infusion of an unprecedented degree of power and funds for the creation of works which lead to provision of employment while building up the asset base of rural areas, thereby contributing to their long term capacity for sustainable development. In 2013-14, 93.9 lakh works were taken up with a total expenditure of over Rs. 38,678.2 crores.Several studies have pointed out towards the massive potential of these works to build and develop rural India's natural capital, provide environmental services and contribute significantly towards mitigating climate change. However, whether and to what extent, this potential is being realised has not been adequately answered. This study is a humble attempt to answer this question. And also to provide a methodology for more extensive and widespread studies to answer the same question.

It also attempts to create a Green Index, which could act as a tool for policy makers, planners and communities to assess the environmental impact of NREGA works and help them plan an optimum mix of assets which lead to an overall improvement in natural capital. It departs significantly from previous studies of a similar nature, in realising that the nature of NREGA works is changing, and many of the newly concieved assets are not necessarily 'environmental' or 'natural resource based' assets and can in fact contribute significantly towards environmental degradation. Even the so-called natural resource based assets, in fact, can sometimes have significant negative effects on some environmental parameters while improving other environmental parameters. It is these realisations, and practical lessons learnt from the ground, which allow us to 'Go beyond Rhetoric' and develop practical tools which could help improve the environmental outcomes of NREGA.

Overview Making space is the story of how waste pickers claimed space for sorting scrap in Pune. It represents in some measure the recognition and value accorded to the waste pickers of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad by the city and its citizens. Space is at a premium in the city. So the sheds mark a milestone in the struggle of informal waste workers to make claims on its space resources and to make the city theirs.

W pracy zaproponowano zielone miejsca pracy jako nowatorską
metodę działań etycznych, łączącą dbałość o środowisko naturalne
z troską o konsekwencje społeczne, niegodnego zatrudnienia lub
bezrobocia. Zielone miejsca pracy mogą być nie tylko nowym polem
działań dobroczynnych instytucji sektora finansowego, ale również obszarem
odpowiedzialnych inwestycji w ramach tzw. zielonej ekonomii.
W pracy proponuje się ponadto czteroaspektowy model działania, który
pomaga tworzyć zielone miejsca pracy w oparciu o wybraną normę,
a ta może przyczynić się do certyfikacji instytucji, korzystającej z zasad
zrównoważonego rozwoju. Ochrona środowiska, która przynosi dochody
i oferuje nowe zielone miejsca pracy może stanowić skuteczne
rozwiązanie wielu problemów środowiskowych i społecznych.

http://www.kwartalnikrsk.pl/assets/rsk1-2018-sulich-sektor-finansowy-a-zielone-miejsca-pracy.pdf

The notion of an inclusive green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication requires an approach that engages with the informal economy. However, the informal economy is generally ignored or undervalued in discussions on the green economy. This paper set out to bolster this argument by identifying the ways in which the green economy and the informal economy may be connected by establishing the extent to which policies and plans relating to green economy connect with the informal economy, and recognising several informal green activities. The barriers and opportunities for connecting the two spheres were also explored as well as possible ways in which such activities may be supported at different levels of organisation. In the case of South Africa, many informal green activities that contribute to sustainable livelihoods are recognised. However, issues pertaining to procedure, process and participation hinder the transition to a truly inclusive green economy.

A energia eólica no Brasil passou por um período de lento crescimento, porém, os projetos contratados nos últimos três anos deverão quintuplicar a capacidade instalada. É a tecnologia limpa que mais tem crescido na última década, trazendo benefícios ambientais e sociais para diversos países. Nosso trabalho buscou quantificar a geração de empregos diretos e indiretos pela energia eólica no país. Até 2020, serão gerados 195 mil empregos, e 70% desses são diretos, a maioria na construção civil, com grande potencial para a criação de empregos em localidades rurais. Assim, a energia eólica poderá contribuir decisivamente para o desenvolvimento sustentável do país.

While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 was hailed by many environmental groups and green jobs advocates as a substantial step forward for the nation’s transition to a clean, green economy, it could have gone further. The ARRA and other green jobs legislation at the federal, state and local levels have largely been silent about who will benefit from the vast wealth that will be created by public investments into private projects. Further, the economic stimulus package hoped to create jobs, without considering whether these jobs will truly create wealth or economic democracy at the community level.
This paper argues that future green jobs legislation should include provisions to build green community-based wealth, by supporting the development of green worker-owned businesses. One such business entity is the worker cooperative. I argue that encouragement of the growth of the worker cooperative movement can result in a potent green job creation strategy.

Sustainable economic development requires the efficient production and use of energy. Combined heat and
power (CHP) offers a promising technological approach to achieving both goals. While a recent U.S. executive
order set a national goal of 40 GWof new industrial CHP by 2020, the deployment of CHP is challenged by financial,
regulatory, and workforce barriers. Discrepancies between private and public interests can be minimized by
policies promoting energy-based economic development. In this context, a great deal of rhetoric has addressed
the ambiguous goal of growing “green jobs.” Our research provides a systematic evaluation of the job impacts
of an investment tax credit that would subsidize industrial CHP deployment. We introduce a hybrid analysis approach
combining simulations using the National Energy Modeling System with Input–output modeling. NEMS
simulates general-equilibrium effects including supply- and demand-side resources.We identify first-order employment
impacts by creating “bill of goods” expenditures for the installation and operation of industrialCHP systems.
Second-order impacts are then estimated based on the redirection of energy-bill savings accruing to
consumers; these include jobs across the economy created by the lower electricity prices that would result
from increased reliance on energy-efficient CHP systems. On a jobs-per-GWh basis, we find that the secondorder
impacts are approximately twice as large as the first-order impacts.

SWaCH is a cooperative of waste pickers engaged in Door to Door Collection (DTDC) of waste from citizens of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Nearly 2000 members of the cooperative work in the city of Pune within the administration of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). They go every morning on their push carts/cycle rickshaws/tempos with their buckets to collect waste from the households, shops, offices, factories and other establishments. They cover nearly 3,00,000 establishments comprising nearly 40% of the city’s population.

SWaCH was established in the year 2008 for a number of purposes but the overarching objective was the welfare of waste pickers. However, the engagement of waste pickers in door to door collection in Pune was initiated nearly 20 years ago around 1990. The objective was clear – to improve working conditions by giving waste pickers direct access to clean waste at its point of generation. This engagement has steadily increased with time. With the formation of SWaCH, an MoU was signed between the PMC and SWaCH which clearly fixes the responsibility of both parties towards each other and the citizens in a way to facilitate not only better waste management, but also better resource allocation to improve the conditions of work of waste pickers.

Clearly, one of the important purposes of shifting waste pickers from their traditional mode of waste collection, or rag picking, to DTDC is to reduce the hazards which waste pickers are traditionally exposed to as a part of their occupation. Nearly one third of the waste pickers in Pune are now engaged in DTDC as members of SWaCH. Whether or not, their occupation as SWaCH members is any less hazardous as compared to their waste picking counterparts is difficult to answer. However, it is safe to say that their occupational health and safety concerns are different from those faced by waste pickers. In spite of the changed nature of their interaction of their interaction with waste, SWaCH members still do interact with waste and are exposed to a large number of hazards. It is these hazards which are analysed in this paper. It attempts to draw a rough picture of the types of health problems afflicting waste pickers in engaged in door to door waste collection in Pune.

Cleaning up the environment is no longer just for tree-huggers. Today it is big business. As the Los Angeles Times reports: “toxic waste, oil spills, landfills, dirty air, contaminated soil and water—they’re not pretty sights...unless you’re looking for fast-growing job opportunities.”  A Money Magazine survey found that environmentally related business sectors are among the fastest growing Yellow Pages listings around the country.  BusinessWeek predicts that earnings in the pollution control industry will grow faster than in any other industry in the country during 1997—by an astonishing 164%—beating even computers and software.  Management Information Systems, Inc., a Washington, DC based consulting group, projects that a million new jobs will be created nationally in environmentally supported careers by the year 2005, a growth rate that is nearly twice as fast as the estimate for all occupations.

In this paper we argue that to maximise the benefits of the green jobs revolution, we must make sure that green jobs are also good jobs, paying a decent wage and offering more and better employment opportunities to a wide range of people.

Green jobs are often heralded as the solution to the twin challenges of lowering our greenhouse gas emissions and bringing down unemployment. However, very little has been said about what new green jobs might look like - who will be doing them, how much might they pay and where will they be? Unequal access to jobs, low pay and a lack of progression routes are endemic problems in some parts of the UK labour market.

To make the revolution a reality, we make the case for greater action at the local level, and by a greater range of individuals and organisations. We examine the potential for new partnerships between lots of different organisations - based on examples of best practice from the USA - to help ensure that new green jobs are right for local communities.

Opracowanie ma na celu wskazanie na innowacyjność zielonych miejsc pracy i że są one przyjazne dla środowiska. W pierwszej części opracowania wskazano, że zielone miejsca pracy wywodzą się z amerykańskiej socjologii, przedyskutowano kategorie zawodowe tzw. różnych kołnierzyków, powstałych od koloru odzieży. W artykule dokonano przeanalizowano tworzenie zielonych miejsc pracy w wybranych krajach Unii Europejskiej; wskazano, że mogą one stanowić o wzroście gospodarczym poszczególnych obszarów.

Norwegian Abstract: Klimaendringer utgjør en alvorlig trussel mot menneskerettighetene. Likevel er menneskerettighetene marginale i klimapolitikk og debatten rundt overganger til "grønne økonomier". Samtidig er mothegemoniske tilnærminger til "grønn økonomi" også marginale. Denne artikkelen utforsker rollen menneskerettighetene kan spille i overgangen til grønne økonomier, og forsøker å forene menneskerettighetene med relevante mothegemoniske ideer i diskursen rundt overganger til grønn økonomi, spesielt "rettferdig omstilling", et krav fra den internasjonale fagbevegelsen. Ved bruk av en tverrfaglig tilnærming og kritisk teori (spesielt skillet mellom "problemløsningsteori" og kritisk teori) undersøker jeg spenningene i konseptet rettferdig omstilling, en omtvistet normativ markør som kan tolkes i tråd med både problemløsningsteori og kritisk teori. På samme vis begrenser juridiske, problemløsningstilnærminger menneskerettighetenes rolle i diskurser rundt klima og grønn økonomi. Mer kritiske, strukturelle tilnærminger – inkludert solidariske rettigheter og kosmopolitiske teorier, og menneskerettighetsbaserte tilnærminger til utvikling – kan spille en betydelig rolle i å utvide kritiske versjoner av rettferdig omstilling. Sammen kan en menneskerettighetsbasert tilnærming til rettferdig omstilling beskytte mot formalismen disse konseptene kan henfalle til, og tilby et analytisk rammeverk og grunnlag for handling til sosiale bevegelse, og krav for en rettferdig og effektiv overgang til bærekraftige samfunn.

English Abstract: Climate change presents a serious challenge to human rights. Nevertheless, human rights remain marginal in climate policy and debates around transitions to 'green economies.' Simultaneously, counter-hegemonic 'green economy' approaches are themselves marginal. This article explores what role human rights can play in transitions to green economies, seeking reconciliation of human rights with relevant counter-hegemonic strands of the transition discourse, especially 'Just Transition,' a demand from the international labour movement. Using a transdisciplinary approach and the insights of critical theory (particularly the difference between 'problem-solving' and 'critical' theories), I examine tensions in the concept of a Just Transition, a contested normative marker open to problem-solving and critical interpretations. Likewise, a problem-solving, legalistic approach restricts human rights’ role in climate and transition discourses. More critical, structural approaches – including solidarity rights and cosmopolitanist theories, and human rights-based approaches to development (HRBAs) – can play a significant role in broadening critical versions of Just Transition. Together, a human rights-based approach to Just Transition protects against the formalism both concepts can fall into, offering an analytical framework and basis for action for social movements to demand a just and effective transition to sustainable societies.

The aim of the article is to propose measurable definition of green jobs based on balanced and sustainable development which is ample of green economy and New Public Management concepts. This approach is justified due to nature of NPM, which uses management by goals and effectiveness measurement. Proposed in this paper green jobs characteristic based on section E of PKD is more specific and can be source of measurement not only in Polish conditions.

The issue of a green revolution, especially after the pandemic emergency, is increasingly urgent and the relationship between the environmental crisis and the labour crisis seems strongly intertwined. In particular, various international and national analysis have highlighted a significant employment impact of all efforts towards a sustainable economy. This introduction aims to contribute to a critical examination of the concept of green economy and its impact on labour and employment, overviewing some of the studies and analysis having systematized the different narratives about the ecological transition and the relationship between work transformation and ecological transition. At the same time, we tried to analyse the heterogeneity of professional practices and social challenges for a sustainable economy through a plural approach that crosses different disciplinary and sectoral points of view. Furthermore, our contribution confirms the importance of focusing attention on small and medium-sized businesses and on professional and self-employment paths within specific local economies, which would offer a much more fertile point of view on the complexity of developing a sustainable economy.

The article discusses commitment to full employment in light of institutional theory and offers a renewed examination of Keynes’s "socialization of investment" concept. The discussion builds on Veblen's theory of human development, predation, and capitalism. It highlights contemporary institutional inquiry in a discussion of ongoing issues of care and social disparities. Based on this, the article formulates problems for a broader inquiry about socialization of investment. The article provides insights about Job Guarantee based on original institutional economics concepts.

This study analyzes the perceptions on some elements that would allow minimizing the negative impacts associated with the elimination of the use of coal in the coal-electric plants in Mexico. Specifically, in the carbonifera region, in the north-central part of the state of Coahuila, a region from which 98% of the coal in Mexico is extracted, and is home to two of the three existing coal-electric plants in the country. In this region, the extraction of coal is the main economic activity, generating employment and income for thousands of families. This is a relevant issue for Mexico, a signatory of the Paris Agreement with the commitment to reduce 25% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Likewise, our country is a signatory of the Global Alliance for the Progressive Elimination del Carbón, committing to withdraw coal-based electricity generation plants by 2030.
Consultations and interviews with experts in the use and extraction of coal were carried out to identify consensus and trends in environmental and employment matters. The opinions of experts in the production and use of coal and of the inhabitants of the coal region were also consulted. For the development of the work, three qualitative analysis techniques were used, which met both the objectives of the study and the restrictions imposed by COVID-19: Delphi survey, focus groups, and interviews. These were aimed at:  i) experts who have lived and / or know the coal region, ii) coal entrepreneurs, iii) coal workers and miners, iv) academics or researchers on the subject of coal and v) young population that is about to enter the labor market.
Among the most important findings of the study is that the vast majority of coal workers are willing to work in activities other than the coal industry to the extent that this change represents an improvement in economic and social well-being. However, given the high degree of concentration of the economy in the mining sector, there is great skepticism that these economic alternatives can become a reality, in particular the generation of green jobs.
A second finding is that opinions converge that there should be a gradual shift from coal to other economic activities, highlighting that the success of the transition will depend on the level of training and skill of the workers. In this sense, it would be necessary to develop programs and investments focused on the development of skills and abilities to take advantage of new job opportunities.
In conclusion, this study shows the importance of considering the quality of employment and the perceptions of the actors involved as a fundamental aspect to define a route of action towards the just transition out of the coal. We hope that the results presented here will be useful for the public and private sectors as a contribution to promoting productive diversification with an emphasis on the generation of green jobs.