WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2024: Sustainability sector to boost jobs creation

India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. As per the latest estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it is the fifth-largest economy globally. The country has committed to achieving economic growth with low carbon emissions. To propel India’s rapid transition towards becoming a thriving green economy, the government has created a clean energy transition plan which includes several initiatives such as earmarking $1.1 billion to the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) schemes across 13 key sectors to promote green transition, viability gap funding for promoting green industries, subsidies to promote green practices, and sovereign green bonds for raising finance for green initiatives, etc. According to a report released by the Skills Council for Green Jobs and Sattva Consulting and supported by JP Morgan in 2023, India, while becoming the fastest-growing economy, has the potential to create 35 million green jobs by 2047. 

 

International Labour Organization (ILO) defines green jobs as ‘decent jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment, whether in traditional sectors like manufacturing and construction or in new, emerging green sectors such as renewable energy and waste management’.

 

The report identified renewable energy, waste management, electric vehicles, green construction, and sustainable textiles as some of the important sectors in India which host the highest number of green employment, especially in urban and peri-urban areas. These sectors will drive future green growth in India,  the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in its year-end review in 2023 reported that India is the fourth largest contributor to renewable energy globally: fourth in wind power 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 Defence Council, and Skill Council for Green Jobs (2022) estimated that in terms of green jobs, solar energy and wind energy sector are projected to create up to 3.26 million and 0.18 million jobs by 2050 and 2030 respectively. Moreover, the bioenergy and green hydrogen sectors are predicted to create 0.27 million and 0.6 million green jobs by 2030, respectively.

 

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

 

While there is no official data for the waste pickers in India, a policy brief by researchers from the George Institute for Global Health, India, indicates that there are 1.5 million waste pickers across India which is around 10% of the global waste sector workforce. E-waste and wastewater management are the two largest sectors in waste management. According to the report by Skills Council for Green Jobs and Sattva Consulting, e-waste currently employs over one million people informally in manual recycling operations and has the potential to create a further 0.5 million jobs. The report highlighted that concerning green transitions in traditional industries, more than 138 Indian firms have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The automotive, construction, and textile sectors are leading the way in India’s green transition. Citing a study by EY, the report emphasised that the growth of EVs is expected to create 10 million direct and 50 million indirect jobs by 2030, offering an opportunity not only to hire new workers but also to upskill and integrate the existing 35 million Internal Combustion Engine workforce. Likewise, there are opportunities for the transition of 45 million and 11 million green jobs in the textiles and construction sector, respectively.

 

Through these estimates, it is evident that the demand for green jobs is expected to increase in future. However, there are several challenges to promoting green growth in India which include, a lack of skilled workers, training centres, funding for green entrepreneurs, limited funds for research and development and a lack of collaboration among key actors. To leverage the green growth opportunity and create more green jobs, the government should establish quality training centres which can create a pool of skilled professionals. It should also collaborate with industry, and promote green entrepreneurs to achieve its agenda of green growth at a faster pace.