Green jobs ‘better for EU environment and budget’

9 February 2012, New Europe

By funding environmental programmes, the European Union can create more jobs at a lower cost, according to a new WWF report by an alliance of environmental non-governmental organisations.

The report found that by giving money to green projects rather than the 2014-2020 budget, thousands of additional jobs can be created. While the EU spent nearly €1 trillion in its last budget, it did not conduct an analysis of job creation.

The report looked at how far €1 billion would go toward job creation under the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and Cohesion Policy in comparison with those created by energy-saving sectors suggested to receive money by the coalition of NGO’s.

With €1 billion, CAP would create 6,200 jobs, while the same investment in Natura 2000, a network of protected ecological territory in the EU, would lead to the creation of 29,000 jobs.

The report showed that by investing €1bn in each of four categories – sustainable transport, energy savings, conservation and renewable energies – nearly 130,000 jobs would be created. “Policymakers need to realise that by mainstreaming green investment in the next EU budget we can create more jobs and still achieve our strategic objectives,” World Wildlife Fund economist Sébastien Godinot said. “In this time of austerity, citizens demand that every cent they contribute to the EU budget works harder and delivers more for Europe.”

The coalition of NGO’s responsible for the report – including WWF, BirdLife Europe, CEE Bankwatch, Conservation International, European Environment Bureau, Friends of the Earth and Transport and Environment – released their findings to the European Parliament to suggest how to save money in the next EU budget.