WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2024: Sustainable development sector to boost job creation

India is emerging as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. According to the latest estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it is the fifth largest economy in the world. The country has committed to achieving economic growth with low carbon emissions. To accelerate India’s rapid transition towards a thriving green economy, the government has created a clean energy transition plan that includes several initiatives such as committing $1.1 billion to production-linked incentive (PLI) programs across 13 key sectors to promote green transition , profitability gap financing to promote green industries, grants to promote green practices and government green bonds to raise funds for green initiatives etc. According to a report published by Skills Council for Green Jobs and Sattva Consulting and supported by JP Morgan in 2023, India: becoming the fastest growing economy, has the potential to create 35 million green jobs by 2047.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines green jobs as “decent jobs that contribute to the protection or restoration of the environment, whether in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction or in new, emerging green sectors such as renewable energy and waste management.

Emerging fields

The report identified renewable energy, waste management, electric vehicles, green construction and sustainable textiles as some of the important sectors in India with the highest number of green jobs, especially in urban and semi-urban areas. These sectors will drive India’s future green growth. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in its 2023 year-end review, said India is the fourth largest producer of renewable energy in the world: fourth in wind capacity and fifth in solar capacity. A report on ‘India’s Expanding Clean Energy Workforce’ by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Natural Resources Defense Council and Skills Council for Green Jobs (2022) estimated that in terms of green jobs, solar and wind energy, it is expected that by 2050 and 2030 this sector will create 3.26 million and 0.18 million jobs, respectively. Moreover, the bioenergy and green hydrogen sectors are expected to create 0.27 million and 0.6 million green jobs, respectively, by 2030.

Recycling initiatives

Waste management is another sector that will contribute significantly to the creation of green jobs in India. By the mid-21st century, urban areas will be home to half of India’s total population and will generate a significant amount of waste. A large pool of skilled waste workers will be needed to manage the different types of waste generated by cities and towns.

While there is no official data on waste pickers in India, guidelines developed by researchers at the George Institute for Global Health in India show that there are 1.5 million waste pickers in India, which is about 10% of the workforce in India. the global waste management sector. E-waste and wastewater management are the two largest waste management sectors. According to a report by the Skills Council for Green Jobs and Sattva Consulting, electronic waste employs more than one million manual recyclers informally and could create another 0.5 million jobs. The report highlights that when it comes to green transition in traditional industries, over 138 Indian companies have committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Automotive, construction and textile sectors are leading the green transition in India. The report, citing a study conducted by EY, highlights that the development of electric vehicles is expected to create 10 million direct and 50 million indirect jobs by 2030, offering the opportunity not only to employ new workers, but also to improve skills and integration of the existing 35 million internal combustion workers. Engine workers. There are also opportunities to relocate 45 million and 11 million green jobs in the textile and construction sectors, respectively.

It is clear from these estimates that the demand for green jobs is expected to increase in the future. However, there are several challenges to promoting green growth in India, which include lack of skilled workers, training centers, financing for green entrepreneurs, limited funds for research and development, and lack of collaboration among key players. To capitalize on green growth opportunities and create more green jobs, the government should establish high-quality training centers that can create a pipeline of skilled professionals. It should also work with industry and promote green entrepreneurs so that they can advance their green growth agenda faster.

(The author is a lecturer from School of Public Policy and Management, TISS, Hyderabad)