---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 12:13:12 +1300 From: Mark Graffis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Europe to Create Millions of Environmental Jobs An alternative to jobs created by the current philosophy of increasing production at any cost. Perhaps our politicians will catch on (he said cynically) ...stu BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 26, 1999 (ENS) - Up to two million jobs in environmentally related fields will be created in the European Union countries in the next 11 years by implementation of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the EU Environment Commissioner said Monday. Bjerregaard Speaking at a seminar organised by the Belgian Royal Institute for sustainable management of natural resources and the promotion of clean technologies, Ritt Bjerregaard said that at least 3.5 million people in the European Union work in jobs related to the environment today. "The achievement of the ambitious Kyoto agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent by the year 2010 will lead to a creation of additional jobs of one to two million by the year 2010," Bjerregaard told the seminar. The new jobs will come from increased production and use of more energy-efficient technologies, the use of renewable energy sources and taxes imposed on the consumption of conventional energy sources such as coal and natural gas. The Commissioner said renewable energy sources alone have a high employment potential. "Estimates show that the job potential of wind energy can be as high as 320,000 jobs, and that of biomass production to 1,000,000 jobs," Bjerregaard said. She predicted that it would be mainly small and medium-sized companies that will create these new jobs as they change production processes. Bjerregaard acknowledged that some jobs will be lost as steps are taken towards environmental health. Legislation with environmental requirements can have a negative impact on the employment rate when factories close, and businesses become less competitive. She gave the example of the closure of a lignite coal fired power plant in the former Eastern Germany. "Jobs will be lost but the environment will win," she said. Companies that use clean technologies and innovative solutions will be able to gain competitive advantage as they save costs and avoid pollution and decrease the use of natural resources such as energy and water. Their expansion leads indirectly to job creation, said the Commissioner. The European Commission's strategy to reduce environmental problems such as bad air and water quality, increasing amounts of waste and the scarcity of green spaces will create additional jobs, Bjerregaard said. "Studies in Germany and the U.K. have shown that cleaner cars and more and better public transport systems not only improve urban air quality but can also create employment. Similarly, increased activity in recycling and the provision of green spaces for people's recreation and as habitats for flora and fauna often result in new businesses opportunities and thus new jobs occur," she said. Other areas with likely job potential are agriculture in rural areas where soil erosion and biodiversity now pose major problems. Bjerregaard predicted an increase in organic farming would add jobs in this field. More jobs will be created in landscape and habitat protection and sustainable forestry, she said. To limit air pollution, European Union countries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands have introduced taxes on the consumption of energy. Enterprises when trying to limit the new tax burden will reduce pollution. The revenues from the energy tax can be used to reduce labour costs, which is an indirect incentive for enterprises to create more jobs. Up to half a million jobs could be created that way, Bjerregaard said. © [20]Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved. References Visible links: 1. http://www.lycos.com/ 2. http://www.ens-news.com/ -- For MAI-not (un)subscription information, posting guidelines and links to other MAI sites please see http://mai.flora.org/
