Global Economy Special Focus: Green Jobs

Since the early 1990s, Worldwatch Institute has examined the benefits of "green jobs" - employment that helps protect and restore the environment. Innovation in such areas as renewable energy, green building, and sustainable agriculture can help businesses stay at the cutting edge, which is essential for retaining existing jobs and creating new ones.

A fair and sustainable economy needs to protect the natural environment and offer well-paying, decent jobs. But today's economy fares poorly on both scores. Not only does the voracious appetite for energy and materials lead to resource depletion, pollution, and climate change, but hundreds of millions of people worldwide remain either unemployed or contend with highly insecure jobs. It is now widely accepted that employment losses from not addressing the environmental crisis are likely to be very serious.

In 2007 and 2008, Worldwatch Senior Researcher Michael Renner, in collaboration with the Cornell University's Global Labor Institute, carried out a state-of-the-art review of green jobs funded and commissioned by the UN Environment Programme under a joint Green Jobs Initiative with the International Labour Office, the International Trade Union Confederation, and the International Organization of Employers.

The report, Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World, is the first comprehensive compilation of global green jobs trends and prospects. In October 2008, Worldwatch released its report Green Jobs: Working for People and the Environment, which summarizes the larger report for a general audience. Green Jobs describes the state-of-play of green employment in renewable energy, buildings, transportation, basic industry, recycling, farming, and forestry.

Working with its partner organizations, the Worldwatch Institute provides high-quality data and analysis that demonstrates the positive linkages between environment, employment, and livelihoods. The Institute's research highlights opportunities and success stories and identifies the policies needed to overcome existing barriers to green jobs development.

Publications & Resources:

• Worldwatch report: Green Jobs: Working for People and the Environment
• UNEP/ILO Report: Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World
• "Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding," Vital Signs Online, July 2008.
• Worldwatch Paper 152: Working for the Environment: A Growing Source of Jobs
• Worldwatch Paper 104: Jobs in a Sustainable Economy
• State of the World 2000: "Creating Jobs, Preserving the Environment"
• "Going to Work for Wind Power," World Watch Magazine, January/February 2001

Recent Green Jobs Analysis and Commentary from Worldwatch:

• Gary Gardner and Michael Renner, "Building a Green Economy," November 12, 2008.
• The Greening of Labor (A three-part series by Ben Block, July/August 2008)
• Michael Renner, "Putting the ‘Green' Back in Greenbacks: Economic Stimulus Package Misses Mark," January 28, 2008.
• Una Song, "Policymakers Recognize Value of "Green" Job Creation," October 17, 2007.