What Exactly Are ‘Green’ Jobs?

• Green jobs go beyond renewables, covering grassroots and corporate roles alike.
• India’s green job potential is high, but access and skills gaps remain.
• India could create up to 35 million green jobs by 2047, but scaling up skills and awareness is key to unlocking this potential.

Green jobs have become central to conversations about sustainable development and climate action, both globally and in India. Today, green jobs are seen as a key pillar in the global transition to a low-carbon economy — but what exactly makes a job “green,” and how accessible are these roles in India?

Green jobs are growing – but what exactly are they?

The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines green jobs as “decent jobs that contribute to preserve or restore the environment, be they in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction, or in new, emerging green sectors such as renewable energy and energy efficiency”. This definition indicates that green jobs are not only limited to emerging industries, but also exist within conventional fields that are evolving to adopt sustainable practices.

The concept of green jobs, globally, gained prominence in the late 20th and early 21st centuries with the growth of awareness and advocacy around environmental issues. This was further driven by renewable energy development which spurred the creation of new green jobs. In recent years, with the global agenda shifting towards sustainable development and climate action, efforts to address issues like carbon emissions, pollution and labour rights in the context of global trade, further expanded the scope of green jobs.

Green jobs, typically, prioritise reducing environmental harm, conserving natural resources, cutting waste, and creating more sustainable ways of living and working.

In India, the Skills Council for Green Jobs (SCGJ) has adopted the ILO’s definition, indicating that green jobs are those which have a positive impact on the environment, whether in established industries like construction or in emerging sectors like solar and wind energy. SCGJ also highlights what are not green jobs – “roles that are extractive by character, harming the environment and/or do not involve protecting the environment through day-to-day responsibilities, and have exploitative/harmful working conditions or don’t pay a living wage, amongst other labour concerns,” it says.

This broad definition of green jobs takes many forms in India — from solar panel installers and EV technicians to professionals working in climate finance, ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting, and nature-based solutions, say experts.

The LinkedIn Global Green Skills Report 2024 also reflects the expanding scope of green jobs, noting that green skills are also now part of industries not traditionally associated with the environment, such as finance, education, and media. In the technology industry, for example, the fastest growing skill was ‘sustainability’, across several countries, particularly Brazil, India and the U.S. Sustainability reporting, energy efficiency and circularity in product lifecycle management are other fast-growing skills in the technology industry in India.

However, there is a need to create a detailed definition of green jobs, green sectors and green skills through consensus across ministries, employers’ organisations and workers’ organisations, says an assessment of India’s green jobs and just transition policy readiness.

How are green jobs evolving in India?

India’s push for green jobs is aligned with the country’s momentum towards a sustainable pathway to growth and climate action goals. India’s renewable energy goals include 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. The country is investing heavily in solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources to meet its targets. Indian companies have also made commitments towards achieving net-zero emissions in the next two decades. The automotive, construction, and textile sectors are leading the way in India’s green transition.

This focus on greening the economy is opening up green jobs. India has the potential to create 35 million green jobs by 2047. In terms of job growth, solar energy is projected to host 3.26 million jobs by 2050, followed by wind energy, which is expected to support 0.18 million jobs by 2030. The bioenergy and green hydrogen sectors are predicted to create 0.27 million and 0.6 million green jobs by 2030, respectively.

While the demand for green jobs is expected to grow steadily — driven by the renewable energy push and climate targets — the supporting ecosystem, including skill-building and awareness, is still nascent, indicates the Gearing up the Indian workforce for a green economy report, which maps the skills landscape for green jobs in India.

There is also a lack of clarity and consistency in how green jobs are defined and classified in India, making it difficult to map and measure their growth. Skill gaps persist, especially in new and rapidly evolving sectors, indicate reports and those working in the industry. This underlines the need for robust training and capacity-building programs.

“There is also a need to raise awareness around the spectrum of green jobs, on which some jobs may be considered “core green”, such as a solar technician, while some others are “indirectly green”, such as a construction worker in a green building – value chain analysis of jobs created in green sectors needs to be undertaken for this,” according to the Assessment of India’s Green Jobs and Just Transition Policy Readiness 2023 report. Yet, the opportunities are immense. As India accelerates its green transition, the demand for skilled workers in sustainable sectors will only grow.

Santonu Goswami, climate researcher and associate professor at the Azim Premji University, agrees that the green jobs sector in India is still in its early stages. He identifies opportunities emerging primarily in renewable energy, carbon finance, ESG reporting, and nature-based solutions. He notes that ‘sustainability’ is growing beyond its CSR roots and taking shape as an independent priority within companies.

But Goswami cautions against viewing green jobs only through a corporate or technical lens. “Sustainability, I feel at times, is seen as an elite concern. We should not think about green jobs as someone in a modern office, looking at data and metrics. It is not only policy analysts or ESG analysts,” he explains. He adds that green jobs should be looked at from the vocational perspective as well, acknowledging roles like technicians in the renewable energy sector or even grassroots workers involved in disaster relief or community-based environmental work, as green jobs.

Who gets to access green jobs?

While green employment is growing, access remains unequal — influenced by geography, education, gender, and digital literacy. As India scales up its renewable energy and climate action goals, ensuring inclusion in the green workforce will be key.

In renewable energy, while there’s a lot of talk about new job creation, studies show a gap between the demand for workers, the available supply, and who actually gets the jobs. Coal mining, for example, directly employs over seven million workers and benefits millions more through indirect jobs. India would need to scale up its solar capacity to nearly 30 times, about 1,000 gigawatts, to transition even about half a million people directly working in coal mines, says a 2020 study. Additionally, wind industry jobs are not a feasible replacement for local coal mining industry jobs, as there aren’t enough wind resources around coal mines.

The skills landscape mapping report flags key systemic barriers that must be addressed to accelerate the skill building efforts in India. These barriers include a lack of dedicated green skill policies, funding shortfalls, weak industry-academia linkages, and the exclusion of vulnerable groups. Without addressing these issues, the green workforce risks becoming both underprepared and inequitable, it says.

(Published under Creative Commons from Mongabay India. Read the original article here)