Introduction
Climate change and environmental pollutions are the sole reasons for adoption of the green economy in the world. This forms the basic rubric upon which the Australian case study is based. This paper adopts an analytic point of view into the Australian case by investigating the reception of the green jobs economy in the country. The paper describes what green jobs are and their role in the economy of the country. Questioning of the global and the Australian stand in as far as adopting the green jobs policy is also given a highlight. The paper also develops an insightful enquiry into how the Australian government has reacted towards the green jobs economy. In general, the paper seeks to illuminate the idiosyncrasies that are reminiscent of the green jobs economy and challenges facing the different stakeholders in implementing the green economy in the world.
Background
The international labour organization in collaboration with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cede fop) launched an investigation into the skill needs for greener economies. The case study being observed in this paper is based on the brain child of the two organizations. Strietska-llina et al. (2011) observe that the development of green economies is the next linchpin for development of the world. This is argued on the principles of changing climatic conditions that have seen countries and their governments all over the world adopt a more reconstructive mechanism that ensures that the environment is less polluted.Green economies therefore are an ideological and practical proposition that is based on the proper utilization of the environment. The following is a case study of the Australian country, and how the green economy has been received and developed.
Green jobs and the Green Economy
Strietska-llina et al. (2011) define green economies as one which is based on jobs that reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors. This is achieved by ensuring high levels and standards that are geared towards sustainability and non-exploitation of the environment. Green jobs economy is therefore advanced through the proper utilization of the environment by individuals, corporate entities, companies, different stakeholders in different organizations and governments. This is done in line with the specifications of the international labor laws. A close following and monitoring ensures that green economies respect the rule of law, protects the environment and observes respect for human resource. Green jobs cover the agricultural sector, industry services and administration that contributes towards the restoration of the environment, while meeting the criteria for decent work (Bibbee 2011).
How green jobs differ from ordinary jobs
Hemlock (2007) observes that ordinary jobs differ from the green jobs in that the environmental concern is not a major consideration to ordinary jobs. To the ordinary jobs, human workforce is mainly concerned about the productivity of goods and products without much concentration on the environment. For ordinary jobs, the worker is concerned at his or her production capacity at the expense of the environment. Workers in the industry have a lesser conviction for environmental preservation. Hemlock (2007) refers to the unintentional approach as one which lacks environmental concern in as far as man utilizes his resources. However, the length of time also offers another challenge in as far as the definition of green jobs is concerned. While the current environmental concerns may cause one job to be considered as a green job, time may also lead to a change in the reference made of the same job. Morris et al. (2009) observe that the world is under a social dynamism which spills over to the climatic and environmental concerns. Human climate is inclusive of the cultural, social and the overall surrounding of the climate. Hence, the job cycle is part and parcel of his climate. Lifestyle changes may therefore make a green job lose that status in future.
Page (2000) observes that the green jobs are divergent from country to country. Every country therefore has its own construction of a green job economy. This means that every country is responsible for the definition of the national environmental goals and standards that are meant to be followed in achieving the green economy status. For instance, Australia has its own definition of a green economy from that adopted by Russia or any country in Africa.
Role of green jobs
1) Environmental sustainability
The role of green jobs surpasses the superficial environmental efficiency that is associated with them. In fact, green economies will have a large impact on the environmental scene than on the social set up. Freyens (2006) observes that adopting the green jobs policy in countries has seen a lot of improvement in the way the human populace views the environment. Green and McCann (2011) assert that adopting new green jobs policy will increase the rate of environmental conservation efforts in the world. This is because there will be an increased awareness of the effects of bad job policies that contribute towards improper exploitation of the environment. For instance, Green and McCann (2011) speculate that Australia has embraced the idea of adopting low carbon emissions in the world of working in industries and production lines. The reconstruction of the ideologies behind work by the members is thus a good backing towards reclaiming environmental sustenance.
2) It is an unexploited venture which increases national economy
Production patterns in industries and other job places is one of the major areas where the green jobs are anticipated to have great and massive influence. Kelly (2008) holds that most countries rely on industrial productions for their economies. Changing the productions lines to adopt the green revolution capacity will therefore have influenced almost the whole nation in adopting the green job campaign. This will have a very big positive impact in the penetration of the members into these economies. By adopting the green jobs policies, the countries and the people will be agreeing to specific outlines and standards of production. The economic advantage of the greener jobs movement is based on the fact that the institution is still unexploited by most countries and partners. Morris et al. (2009) observe that this is a virgin area where the countries involved can take advantage of the situation. Countries can therefore tap into the rich resource by seeking new development ventures in the green economy.
3) Creates new employment
Barde and Potier (1996) expostulates that there are very few human resource technocrats in the world today. The labour market is in a constant change. There are needs for better and properly trained environmental technocrats and new ways of producing without harming the environment. Skill development in the labour markets is a high necessity in the 21st century for proper market development (Morris et al. 2009). There is a need to develop skills in the agriculture, architecture, mining and other industrial productions fields. This will ensure that there is a cleaner environment in terms of production and adherence to the climatic conditions needed for sustenance of the world. Therefore the role of employment creation is a fathomable one. Goods (2011) speculates that the green economy demands a thorough reappraisal of the economy and other relevant fields in order to increase the awareness. Therefore the design and training of workers to adopt the green economy speculations calls for massive job recruitment. This will ensure that there are new jobs specifically designed for achieving the green environment.
4) Ensures sustainable use of resources
Sustainable use of resources also calls for adopting the green jobs policy. This as Kelly (2008) points out can be done through adopting a relevant approach by the governments of the countries where the green economy is incepted. Governments have a very influential role to play in as far as the adoption and implementation of the green economy is concerned (Research and Markets 2011). This means that the drafting and implementation of the policies and laws governing the green economy are fully vested in the country’s government. It is therefore the duty of the governments to adopt such an influential stand in ensuring that there is sustainability of the resources. Resource utilization in the world will be achieved if the mechanisms of safeguarding overexploitation of the environment by different forces are implemented.
5) Improved health of the population
Adopting the green jobs economy will lead to an improved health of the people (Goods 2011). This is directly attributed to the fact that pollution of the environment will be a less concern to the people. With increased awareness and the adoption of the environmental regulations and policies, there will be less environmental pollution from by people and industries. Page (2000) observes that currently the world is facing a major environmental crisis because of the large human pollution and emission toxic substances to the atmosphere. This has led to desertification and unpredictable weather patterns in the world (Morris et al. 2009). With better policies adopted through green jobs, the world is set to undergo major environmental reconstruction therefore leading to better and healthy living.
Australia’s response towards green economy
Page (2000) reports that the movement of Australia from an energy intensive producing industry to a less energy intensive industry calls for the realization that the global economy is set to experience long term economic losses if the climate change is not paid attention to. In this bid, the Australian government and its stakeholders have put in place reconstructive mechanisms that help meet the current needs. The following are some of the actions that the government has undertaken in response the green economy.
Skills need analysis and retraining of Australian workers
There have been resources that have been put in place to aid of the massive retraining of workers through different mechanisms. A CSIRO reports indicate that the adoption of a sustainable economy in country will have little impact on the job market and employment in the country. This is because there have been numerous efforts launched towards the realization of the green economy. Hemlock (2007) notes that the country’s agricultural and manufacturing industries are likely to suffer from the shift into a carbon constrained economy. Therefore, the market demands may be affected in a long term. However there is a skill response policy and mechanism that has been adopted by the government through mobilization of resources and retraining of its employees on the new policies and methods of production that do not pollute the environment.
Adoption of the carbon abatement policy
According to Research and Markets (2011) the country has also been in a tussle to implement an integration of a carbon abatement policy. This has been spread all through its structures and the local infrastructure has been involved. This has ensured that the country is on a wholesome trajectory movement towards the realisation of the green economy. This capacity has been implemented through following the policies guidelines which the stakeholders in the industry are supposed to adhere to. Internal training of employees by the government and the employees in the industry is another part that the country’s main inclinations towards the realisation of the requirements of the industry. This incorporates the mentoring, structures information sessions and creation of awareness of the major happenings in the climate cycle (Golan 2007). During these sessions, there is an emphasis on the changing business environment. This is to gain a more competitive understanding of the environmental concerns that should be tackled by all if any meaningful change into a green economy is to go by.
Use of government incentive to institute change
There is also the use of government incentives to drive behaviour change and business change (Freyens 2006). This has been adopted through mobilization of all the internal resources of the country. ILO (2008) advances that the government spending on funding the economy’s shift to a less carbon emitting increased from 1.6% to 11% in the period of 2003nto 2008. This is a manifestation of the commitment that the government plays in establishing a more environmentally friendly working and business economy. Regularity and consistence in the dissemination of the legislative policies in its economic line is also responsible for the change that is being witnessed in the country’s green economy (ILO2008). It is important to note that the reactions adopted by Australia are done from the local level all through to the federal government. This is therefore a multifaceted approach reaction towards the reclamation of the environment by adoption of the green economy.
Constant climatic changes
Silverman (2009) notes that while the inception of the green economy in Australia has been an upwards trend, there have been bottle necks in the mode of skill training that matches the needs of the environmental sustainability. This is because most of the training that is undertaken by the training institutions lacks the capacity to inculcate the dynamism of climatic issues (Theil2010). Therefore the training of the employees may be short term as the skill needed in the realization of green economies needs to be sustained. Course review therefore needs frequent revision so as to inculcate the new challenges and developments that are witnessed in the country. This therefore means that the country has to design a training that takes care of the future environmental challenges (Theil2010).
Skill shortages and unpredictable economy
A shortage in skill requirements in the country is also another challenge that continues to affect the green economy in the country. Silverman (2009) points out that while the retraining is made to bring the balance that is required, one cannot ignore the fact that there is a short age of the skills required for achieving a full functional green economy. There is also the possibility of lowering the job index in the country. This as Worldwatch Institute and UNEP (2008) observe is attributed to the face that the country is changing from a highly energy dependent economy to a carbon abated economy. Most of the industrial manufacturing and agricultural economy of the country is based on the intense high energy economy (Peterson 2008). Adopting the carbon abatement may present an unpredictable economy in terms of the capacity to absorb the increased market demands of jobs.
Complying with the green economy requires massive financial backing
The financing of the retraining on a massive scale is also another challenge that faces the country. Tiwari (2010) argues that different sectors in the economy of the country will be expected to change at their own rates. This is something that the country cannot control, and therefore its efforts of changing to a green economy in terms of employing workers are limited to the speed adopted by the different organs (Tiwari2010). The local and the federal governments will therefore have to adhere to the rate of change that is adopted by the different stakeholders and industries playing part in the economy of the country.
Sustainability and the green jobs
The question of whether the green jobs will lead to achievement of environmental sustainable economy should not form the query of most of the countries geared towards the green economy. This is because the rate at which the climatic conditions are changing calls for immediacy rather than arbitration of whether there are immediate gains of the anticipated environmental reforms. Worldwatch Institute and UNEP (2008) record that for countries to witness a well-balanced economy that does not exploit climatic conditions, every worker and professional should be environmentally conscious. This should be reflected in their work culture and the through the policies that are implemented to control the level of environmental use. Therefore adopting the green jobs will be the first steps towards the realisation of employment sustainability since the green economy is untapped. Exploiting it will lead to long term effects and sustainable employment.
Conclusion
The realisation of green economy in the world is a process that requires the involvement of not only the government but also the various stakeholders in the economy. This means that there should be deliberate efforts advanced towards ensuring that that the employment of workers follows the policies advanced by the economy. Australia is one of the model countries which have inculcated the change that is geared towards the realisation of a green economy. Despite the challenges faced in the skill training of the new employment requirements the country has adopted reconstructive methods which should be emulated by other nations in achieving the same level of development. Caution should also be taken to avoid a possible instability in the job market. The culmination of the whole process should be geared towards enhancing environmental sustainability while at the same time maintaining job sustainability.
References
Barde, J. &Potier, M. 1996, "A green impact on jobs?",Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD Observer, , no. 198, pp. 17-17.
Bibbee, A. 2011, Green Growth and Climate Change Policies in New Zealand, Paris, France, Paris.
Birritteri, A. 2009, Green Jobs = Ripe Opportunities, Newark, United States, Newark.
Carlos, A.M. & Lewis, F.D. 2001, "Trade, consumption, and the Native economy: Lessons from York Factory, Hudson Bay", The Journal of Economic History, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 1037-1064.
Freyens, B. 2006, "Measures of training costs in Australia", Management Research Review, vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 495-511
Green, D.D. & McCann, J. 2011, "Benchmarking a leadership model for the green economy", Benchmarking, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 445-465.
Golan, M. 2007, "Going Green Pays Off for Two Leading Businesses", Real Estate Issues, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 55-58,III,VII.
Goods, C. 2011, "Labour Unions, the Environment and Green Jobs", The Journal of Australian Political Economy, , no. 67, pp. 47-67.
Hemlock, D. 2007, Job market turns green as environmental concerns rise, Washington, United States, Washington.
ILO, 2008.Greening the Global Economy: The Skills Challenge. Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_emp/@ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_164630.pdf
Kelly, K.M. 2008, "Going Green: the Challenges & the Solutions", Automotive Design & Production, vol. 120, no. 1, pp. 26-31.
Morris, A.P., Bogart, W.T., Dorchak, A. &Meiners, R.E. 2009, Green Jobs Myths, Rochester, Rochester.
Page, G.W. 2000, "Managing the Environment, Managing Ourselves: A History of American Environmental Policy", Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 155-155.
Peterson, C.A. 2008, "Green IT and data centre challenges", Malaysian Business, , pp. 7.
Research and Markets: Special Issue: Green Jobs, Green Recovery 2011, , New York, United States, New York.
Silverman, D. 2009, "Going Green: Challenges And Opportunities", WWD, vol. 198, no. 15, pp. 8-n/a.
Strietska-llina, O., Hofmann, C., Duran, M. And Jeon, S. (2011), Skills for Green Jobs: A Global View- Synthesis base on 21 country studies, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland, http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilo-bookstore/order
Theil, S. 2010, Green Politics Claims a Victim in Australia, New York, United States, New York.
Tiwari, N. 2010, Environment Protection and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Critique from Legal Perspective, Rochester, Rochester.
World watch Institute and UNEP, 2008.Green Jobs: Towards a Sustainable, Low Carbon World, Retrieved from http://www.unep.org/labour_environment/PDFs/Greenjobs/UNEP-Green-Jobs-Report.pdf
