How the objective of a resource-efficient low carbon economy is to be reached and how the transition is managed are the key issues addressed by this publication. The two main focuses are industrial policy and employment prospects on the road to a green economy that retains its industrial base. Any lasting recovery of the real economy will necessarily take the shape of a more resource-efficient production model. While we argue that only a more ambitious and comprehensive European climate policy framework would have a chance of delivering the broader 2050 climate targets, this does not mean that Europe has to give up its industrial base and its related competences. Several chapters of this book argue that the option of attaining a low-carbon economy through ‘deindustrialisation’ would prevent Europe from preserving its competitiveness and knowledge base, which are also essential for exploiting the potential of the emerging eco-industry. While decoupling economic growth from resource use is also possible with an industrial base that is more energy-and resource-efficient, this does require a fundamental shift in terms of how the economy is managed and how business decisions are made. Sustainable industrial and structural policies are needed also in order to ensure that this revolutionary process takes place in a socially balanced manner.

Greening Auto Jobs: A Critical Analysis of the Green Job Solution details current and problematic understandings of what constitutes a "green job." Adopting an approach grounded in critical political economy, this book presents a framework to scrutinize the green job solution and the theoretical framework which overwhelmingly informs contemporary green job creation efforts and ecological modernization. The text also explores the tensions that encircle the world of work and environmental action, often referred to as "jobs versus the environment," by detailing the conflicting commitments of political-economic actors to the idea of green job creation. These conflicts are outlined through an examination of the political-economic debate that has surrounded the Australian Government’s environmental plans from 2008 to 2012 and the conflicting positions of Australian trade unions on environmentally transitioning the world of work. Interviews with key political-economic actors provide in-depth and nuanced understandings of the varied perspectives of political and union leaders in Australia. The second part of the book presents a detailed case study of the posited green job solution within the specific context of the Australian automotive manufacturing industry. The case study is also informed by interviews with key industry, union, and policymakers. The automotive industry is scrutinized not only because it has expressed going green as important to its long-term economic future, but because the Australian Government declared that its $6.2 billion "New Car Plan for a Greener Future" policy would create green jobs. Therefore, the book engages with the task of examining the three multinational vehicle producers operating in Australia—Ford, GM Holden, and Toyota—and how they have responded and engaged with the idea of green jobs, greening the manufacturing process, and the vehicles they produce in Australia.

A ‘green economy’ must be built on ‘green jobs’ - the kind of employment that is low carbon, intended to reduce energy use and expected to restore environmental quality. But attempts to define exactly what a ‘green job’ is have led to varied and often contradictory answers. There are many unresolved questions including whether we consider jobs in the nuclear fuel industry to be green jobs? Or is a worker at a glass making company which supplies the glass for the solar photovoltaic industry doing a green job given that glass making is a ‘dirty’ industry? This book deals with the relationship between "green" concepts (green jobs, green economy, green growth) and sustainable development. It examines to which extent creation of green jobs supports overall economic development as opposed to creation of elitist jobs and greenwashing. In order to do so, general conceptual frameworks for green jobs, green economy, green growth and green policy are presented as well as their implementation in ten countries selected among the Group of Twenty. The selection includes advanced (the European Union, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Republic of Korea, Japan) and developing countries (Mexico, China, Turkey and Brazil). The analysis presented in this book shows that although green concept is well-intentioned, its implementation depends on local circumstances – economic, political and social. Developed countries perceive green growth as a way to create new markets and demand, while developing countries rely more on labor intensive growth and less expensive green jobs. Thus, greening the economy does not diminish differences between rich and poor. This book is suitable for those who study and work in Ecological Economics, Sustainable Development and Labor Economics.

This report suggests that the role of skills and education and training policies should be an important component of the ecological transformation process.

"In its resolutions 57/141 and 58/240, the General Assembly decided to establish a regular process under the United Nations for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects, both current and foreseeable, building on existing regional assessments. In its resolution 71/257, the Assembly recalled that the scope of the first cycle of the Regular Process focused on establishing a baseline and decided that the scope of the second cycle would extend to evaluating trends and identifying gaps. The programme of work for the period 2017-2020 of the second cycle of the Regular Process includes the preparation by the Group of Experts of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects, of the second World Ocean Assessment, building on the baselines established by the First Global Integrated Marine Assessment (first World Ocean Assessment). In its resolution 72/73, the Assembly decided that the Group of Experts should proceed on the basis of a single comprehensive assessment. The present document was prepared by the Group of Experts in accordance with those decisions"--Summary.

The impact of COVID-19 on local jobs and workers dwarfs those of the 2008 global financial crisis. The 2020 edition of Job Creation and Local Economic Development considers the short-term impacts on local labour markets as well as the longer-term implications for local development.

Green jobs, employment that contributes to protecting the environment and reducing humanity's carbon footprint, will be a key economic driver of the 21st century. This report explores the role green jobs will play within the various industries, energy production, construction, transportation, energy-intensive industries, recycling and re-manufacturing, and agriculture and forestry.

The challenges of achieving environmental sustainability and of generating decent work for all are closely linked. In this timely book, Poschen argues that an integrated approach to tackle these challenges is a necessity: the goal of environmentally sustainable economies will not be attained without the active contribution of the world of work. Decent Work, Green Jobs and the Sustainable Economy demonstrates that green jobs can be a key economic driver, as the world steps into the largely uncharted territory of building a sustainable and low-carbon global economy. Poschen shows that positive outcomes are possible, but require a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges.Enterprises, workers and governments are not passive bystanders in the great transformation that is urgently needed in our economies. They are essential agents of change, able to develop new ways of working in sustainable enterprises that safeguard the environment, create decent jobs and foster social inclusion. This book highlights the solutions that the world of work offers for policy and practice to tackle climate change, achieve environmental sustainability and to build prosperous and cohesive societies. It is essential reading for those in business, aca­demia and government.

A program for building a global clean energy economy while expanding job opportunities and economic well-being. In order to control climate change, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that greenhouse gas emissions will need to fall by about forty percent by 2030. Achieving the target goals will be highly challenging. Yet in Greening the Global Economy, economist Robert Pollin shows that they are attainable through steady, large-scale investments—totaling about 1.5 percent of global GDP on an annual basis—in both energy efficiency and clean renewable energy sources. Not only that: Pollin argues that with the right investments, these efforts will expand employment and drive economic growth. Drawing on years of research, Pollin explores all aspects of the problem: how much energy will be needed in a range of industrialized and developing economies; what efficiency targets should be; and what kinds of industrial policy will maximize investment and support private and public partnerships in green growth so that a clean energy transformation can unfold without broad subsidies. All too frequently, inaction on climate change is blamed on its potential harm to the economy. Pollin shows greening the economy is not only possible but necessary: global economic growth depends on it.

First published in 2006. Over the past decades, the world has witnessed the profound transformation of China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Singapore from impoverished developing regions into strong and internationally competitive economies. Also dubbed Newly Industrializing Economies (NIEs), it has become obvious that their rapid development has come at a price. Contrary to their economic successes, these NIEs have been much less successful in terms of ecological sustainability and environmental protection. A critical question in this respect is: how can the state effect the greening of industries and business without inhibiting economic growth? Some scholars have argued that NIEs are situated at an unique juncture: they have an unparalleled opportunity to ?nd different development paths and in so doing to provide models that other countries could follow. With the right policy mix, they might achieve rapid economic development while avoiding environmental degradation on the scale of that created by the United States, Europe-a Union member countries, and other earlier industrialized nations. “Doing it right the ?rst time” – by installing clean technologies and developing the capacity and the governance style to enforce environmental regulations – could lead to “leapfrogging” the development process, and building industrial economies that are both competitive and more sustainable than those economies with an older industrial base. This edited volume examines these issues through case-studies from China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Singapore. It is argued that the NIEs – ?rst and second generations alike – are not truly situated in a more favourable position that allows leapfrogging in the greening of industries. This book brings together a team of leading experts in their ? eld, ranging from development studies, sociology, political studies, and economics. It will be of interest to a wide readership of students and professionals concerned with development in contemporary Asia, with particular reference to environmental studies, industrial pollution control, social movements, and developmental state theory.