Green Jobs and the Ethics of Energy - Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability - page 153

Box 5.1: Some UK Job Estimates
Overall UK employment in energy industries was around 600,000 in 2012,
with about 10% in the nuclear sector (DECC 2013 ). The Renewable Energy
Association (REA) in Renewable Energy: Made in Britain estimated that the
UK renewable energy sector employed 99,000 people in 2010-2011 and
110,000 people in 2012 and that by 2020 this could rise to 400,000 (REA
2012 ). The Department of Energy and Climate Change's Renewable Energy
Roadmap 2012 Update suggests that in addition to the REA's estimate of
110,000 direct jobs in 2012, there were an estimated extra 160,000 jobs along
the supply chain and that in 2020, in addition to the 400,000 jobs estimated by
the REA, there would likewise be 'many more further along supply chains'
(DECC 2012b ). For comparison in Germany, in 2013, employment in green
energy neared 400,000.
Looking further ahead, the Centre for Alternative Technology, in its Zero
Carbon Britain study, suggested that in their ambitious scenario, aiming to get
to near 100% renewables by 2030 would create over 1.3 million new jobs in
energy supply and with energy effi ciency and new farming jobs added, over
1.5 million in all (CAT 2013 ).
where unions are often well established. These issues can lead to confl icts between
environmentalists and workers, and sometimes quite bitter confrontations. While it
may be true that longer term there will be more jobs, in the short term, there could
be painful disruptions, especially for older people who cannot easily retrain or
adapt.
The unions have sometimes fallen back on a more defensive line. For example,
the TUC report 'A Green and Fair Future', says that union support for environmen-
tal policies is 'conditional on a fair distribution of the costs and benefi ts of those
policies across the economy, and on the creation of opportunities for active engage-
ment by those affected in determining the future wellbeing of themselves and their
families'.
However, there are also more radical strands in union thinking, sometimes build-
ing on common interests. For example, the American Wind Energy Association and
the United Steelworkers have created a 'Partnership for Progress' to accelerate
wind-power development and deployment in the USA. The European Union body
ETUC has called for a binding EU target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75%
by 2050 and has called for a tripartite dialogue to address negative social effects of
restructurings (ETUC 2013 ). In general, although some unions remain committed to
nuclear power, most are very pro-renewables, given their job creation potential, and
are keen to build links with environmental groups and campaigns. For example,
Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation
(ITUC), has backed a radical energy transition proposal by Greenpeace. He com-
mented 'While many additional 'Just Transition' policies will be needed to ensure