Green jobs impacting economic growth beyond renewable energy


Much of the current discussion about green jobs focuses on the renewable energy industry, but green jobs are pervasive throughout the economy. Industries with higher proportions of green jobs have higher job growth than that of the overall economy, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.

The utility sector accounts for just three percent of total private green jobs and, within that sector, the water and sewage industry accounts for more than four times the number of green jobs as renewable energy, according to the research. Outside of these industries, occupations such as garbage collectors, sewage workers, construction workers, household-appliance manufacturers and bus drivers are as integral to the green economy as solar-panel installers or wind-turbine manufacturers, EPI contends.

The manufacturing sector plays a huge part in the green economy, accounting for 20.4 percent of all green jobs. EPI projects that green industries within the manufacturing sector will grow 25 percent faster than the sector itself.

"Transitioning to a greener and more sustainable economy is good for the environment, but it also helps promote stronger economic growth and opportunity," said EPI senior policy Analyst Ethan Pollack. "And the seeds of this transformation are planted throughout the economy, oftentimes in unexpected places."

For more:
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