Posts Tagged climate change

First ever green job survey depicts a booming industry

June 5, 2009 at 10:51 am · Filed under ethical jobs, green jobs ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Finally, in the midst of the plethora of ugly headlines about redundancies, high prices and overstretched public services, there has been some good financial news. Even better, it comes from the environmental sector.

Reuters published its first ever Carbon Salary Survey in early June, and boy does it look good. A whopping 68% of green job holders said that they felt an increased sense of job security in the past few years, going against the grain of most industries, where workers are clinging desperately to their careers.

Most respondents in the survey put this warm, fuzzy and secure feeling down to increased enthusiasm from governments and businesses to go green and tackle the effects of climate change.

Being secure in your job, in the midst of a recession, is plenty to be thankful for, but wait; there’s more! The average salary in the climate sector came out at around £47,000, which is a promising indicator of a healthy sector.

The rapid growth of the green industry is partly due to government agreements to tackle climate change. In the UK, green jobs were given a lift by the EU agreement in December 2008 to source 20% of its energy from renewables by 2020 and to cut its carbon emissions to 20% below 1990 levels.

Now for a little patriotic pride; the UK remains the hub of the green job sector, with 28% of green business headquarters located in Britain. North America was close behind at 26%, with Europe at a close third with 24%. At least the UK’s flagging Prime Minister Gordon Brown has managed to hit one target; his pledge to keep the UK as an international leader in green technology seems to be in sight.

The Reuters survey goes to show one thing; that an environmental career is the way to go for stability, great salaries and progression up the ladder. The only negative aspect that the survey revealed was the fact that women, on average, still earn around 18% less than men working at the same level. So, girls (and open-minded boys), there is only one thing to do; check out the job listings on JuicyJobs and correct the balance!

Author
Rachel Charman, a writer for JuicyJobs; Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living.  For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in London.

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New report calls for ethical jobs boost to care for climate change victims

May 15, 2009 at 11:43 am · Filed under ethical jobs ·Tagged , , , , ,

At the risk of sounding like a scaremonger, climate change is going to kill a lot of us. At least, that’s what a new report published yesterday by The Lancet and University College London has to say.

The report, two years in the making, outlines the serious health risks posed by the onset of climate change, which is a context the problem is not often considered in. Essentially, the report says that climate change, if it continues at its current rate, will bring floods, heatwaves and freakishly strong storms. As well as accidents and injuries, that means an increase in infections, skin cancer and a whole host of other nasty diseases, right here in the UK.

The current NHS system, given these future events, is clearly in for a struggle. A sudden increase in service users like that would put the system under unprecedented strain.

That’s just the UK. It’s in Africa, where drought, infection and famine already kill millions every year that the rising temperatures will really be felt. It’s in Bangladesh, where thousands are already killed every year by floods caused by climate change, will feel the rising sea levels.

The report calls for the NHS to wake up to climate change and plan strategically for the havoc that climate change could cause if we continually fail to meet carbon reduction targets. The system will need to create thousands of public sector jobs to expand the service ready for more needy service users.

Far greater than the requirements of the NHS, however, will be those of the aid agencies serving developing nations. Hundreds of locations around the world where people are already suffering from the combined effects of climate change, colonisation and harsh trading arrangements are already crying out for more and better trained aid workers. If aid agencies and charities take this report to heart, there will be a massive recruitment campaign to fill the ethical jobs gap that will only become felt more painfully in the next ten years.

Author
Rachel Charman, a writer for JuicyJobs; Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living.  For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in the UK.

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UK government can learn from the US when it comes to green jobs

March 2, 2009 at 11:54 am · Filed under green jobs ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Engineering industry associations are kicking up a fuss across the pond when it comes to green jobs. Whilst Obama, the man of the hour, is set on tackling climate change (as well as generally saving the world), his US stimulus package, designed to kick start the economy, includes the creation of 100,000 green jobs. Not everyone is happy about it, either.

On the surface it sounds like great news. As unemployment sweeps the States, and energy prices are the news story of the year, it seems sensible for the leader of the Free World to address both in one go. The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), however, has serious reservations about the scheme. The organisation predicts that the sudden creation of green jobs in the industry will lead to an immediate shortage.

The AEE says that this is because, although all of its members work in the energy efficiency or renewable energy sectors, one in four of its members are due to retire before 2019. This will leave a huge time lag, as the new generation of engineers are still training, meaning more strain on green industries and ultimately, more ammunition for nay-sayers of green technology.

70% of interviewed members of the AEE called for a national training scheme to address the gap, avoiding the slowing of the development of green technology, and providing vital skills to unemployed Americans.

This is exactly the kind of two-pronged approach and foresight that we need here in the UK. It’s all very well promising green jobs and reduced energy costs, but concrete plans have yet to materialise. Prime Minister Gordon Brown ensured the government’s continuing commitment to green job creation, but was unspecific as to what action is to be taken. It would also help if there were firm initiatives as to how to fill those positions in a relatively new and specialist field, particularly with the people who have been made redundant from the very different construction sector. More training, or at least volunteering, in the environmental sector is needed to make this work.

Author and resource box
Rachel Charman, a writer for JuicyJobs Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living.  For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in London.

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Oldham set to become a green job beacon

March 2, 2009 at 11:49 am · Filed under green jobs ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

When you think “progressive”, you might be forgiven for not immediately thinking “Oldham”. The town’s council, however, is becoming something of an environmental beacon, with surrounding councils visiting the area and taking notes on how to become more sustainable and create green jobs.

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet minister for the environment, has proudly revealed the town’s plans to the Oldham Advisor:

“The council recognises the huge challenge facing us with regards to climate change.

“Our aim is to create a local low carbon economy that will provide new jobs and support small businesses while at the same time meeting our obligations on national targets.

“Our aim is to be the greenest council, not only in Greater Manchester, but the whole country.”

The council revealed that a foreign green technology company is considering relocation to Oldham, which could create 500 new environmental jobs in the region. There are further plans to create green jobs through insulating homes, and that a new recycling scheme could create a further 350 environmental careers.

As well as this, the council’s regeneration department has been working hard to ensure sustainability in new developments in the town. The renewable energy policy in Oldham dictates that all new buildings must derive at least 10% of its energy from renewable sources, whilst 84% of Oldham schools are now eco-schools.

Whilst initiatives on a local level such as this are fantastic news, there is still a need for a nationwide, comprehensive green policy from central government ensuring consistency in the UK’s environmental efforts, as well as helping to tackle the rising unemployment with a large blow rather than in small swipes. If Chris Smith, chair of the Environment Agency, gets his way, this could happen sooner rather than later.

Author and resource box
Rachel Charman, a writer for Juicyjobs Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living.  For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in London.

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Global ‘Green New Deal’ may create green jobs

February 5, 2009 at 2:35 pm · Filed under green jobs ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

The World Economic Forum in early February held good tidings for green job seekers and those working in environmental careers. The meeting, held in Switzerland, included an urgent address from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to governments and businesses to invest in green technology.

Mr Moon said that by business heads and governments working together a worldwide initiative could be created to invest in and develop renewable energy and green technology.

This, Mr Moon went on, would create millions of green jobs, helping to reverse the effects of the global financial downturn.

The address fits in with Mr Moon’s previous attempts to convince world and business leaders to push the green agenda. He said:

“We live in a new era. Its challenges can be solved by cooperation; and only by cooperation.

“By tackling climate change head-on, we can solve many of our current troubles, including the threat of global recession.”

This latest display of support for green technology as a tool to beat the recession comes after various similar initiatives around the world. In Northern Ireland in January, a conference bringing together scientists, environmentalists and government delegates was held, where the creation of green jobs to tackle rising industrial unemployment was discussed. The UK central government has recently approved the FIT scheme, to begin in April 2010, which will pay people for producing renewable energy.

The news will be welcomed by green job seekers in the UK. Whilst local authorities are implementing green volunteering schemes, central government’s implementation of green job policies has come under fire lately due to the early closure of its low carbon building programme. International pressure from bodies such as the UN, coupled with that of the credit crunch, could be just what is needed to open up the environmental sector to thousands of job seekers. Keep checking JuicyJobs.biz for great green job opportunities.

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