The employment implications of a low-carbon economy

• Published in: Sustainable development (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England) Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 27 - 38
• Main Authors: McEvoy, D., Gibbs, D.C., Longhurst, J.W.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.02.2000; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Series: Sustainable Development
• Subjects: Carbon; Climate change; Consumption; Costs; Economic growth; Economics; Efficiency; Employment; Energy; Environmental protection; Environmental regulations; Global warming; Job creation; Natural resources; Regulation; Studies; Sustainable development
• ISSN: 0968-0802; 1099-1719
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1719(200002)8:1<27::AID-SD120>3.0.CO;2-O

The threat of global warming and unacceptable levels of unemployment are two items high on policy agendas in the 1990s. Increasing emphasis on ‘sustainable development’ ensures that debate surrounding the relationship between jobs and the environment is kept under the research microscope. In the past, the supposed incompatibility of environmental protection and employment was a fairly deep‐rooted and little‐contested belief. However, recent ‘revisionist’ thinking has spotlighted discrepancies with this traditional economic approach. Increasingly, environmental economic literature cites the relationship between the two as positive, with careful policy implementation enabling mutual reinforcement. This paper details the background to the ‘jobs versus environment’ debate, providing a summary of the latest literature and assessing the prospects for increased employment in a low‐carbon economy. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment