Does Going Green Mean Losing Jobs? (4/8/09)
Could going green mean fewer jobs? We’ve heard of all the new jobs that investments in renewable energy, green manufacturing, etc., will create, but a new study is actually saying the opposite.
Could going green mean fewer jobs? We’ve heard of all the new jobs that investments in renewable energy, green manufacturing, etc., will create, but a new study is actually saying the opposite, citing Spain as an example. Spain is an example of how government subsidies can create "green jobs," but a new study documents that every renewable job created by the Spanish government eliminated more than two other jobs. Each “green” megawatt installed in Spain destroyed 5.39 jobs in non-energy sectors, the study found.
In addition, only one in 10 jobs created in Spain were permanent, the study found: two-thirds of new jobs were temporary jobs in construction, fabrication and installation jobs; one quarter were positions in administration, marketing, and projects engineering; and only one of 10 was related to more permanent operations and maintenance of renewable power systems.
If U.S. subsidies to renewable producers achieve the same result, the U.S. could lose more than 6 million and up to 11 million jobs as it creates 3 million largely temporary “green jobs," the study predicts.
What do you think? Is this another example of how any study can be conducted to find the desired results, or is there some reality to the green movement actually taking a backwards turn for our economy? Leave a comment below.
