A new report by the Copenhagen Climate Council at the World Business Summit on Climate Change has found that a firm commitment to low-carbon energy sources would create millions of sustainable new jobs in the United States alone.
The report, Green Jobs and the Clean Energy Economy, is authored by Dan Kammen and Ditlev Engel, believes that appropriate policy frameworks and large-scale strategic investment in clean energy technologies will both spur greater employment than fossil fuel investment.
The findings are based on a job-creation model developed at the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, which featured a case study of Danish wind power giant Vestas Wind Systems.
The report reveals a combination of policy scenarios that demonstrate that renewable energy investment and energy efficiency measures can generate 2 to 8 times more jobs per unit of energy delivered than the fossil fuel-based sector. Green Jobs further indicates that in the United States alone a national Renewable Portfolio Standard of 25% in 2025 coupled with a 0.5% annual electricity growth rate would generate more than 2 million jobs, and further increasing low-carbon sources by around 50% would generate more than 3 million jobs. This would result in a massive 90% of U.S. electricity supply coming from renewable or low-carbon sources.
The report highlights the pivotal role that the public sector must play in creating low carbon electricity supply. An example of this is the E.U.'s consistent record of progressive regulation that has spurred decades of innovation.
For more information go to www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com
