Sustainable energy transition: employment threat or opportunity?

author: Rick Van Assel

Brussels, november 25 - The European think tank "Confrontations Europe" held a debate Wednesday the 25^th of November on the transition to a greener economy, a great challenge for our future. The European Economic and Social Committee’s (EESC) Jacques Delors building hosted several stakeholders, including EESC’s president and a representative of the European Commission. They discussed the possibility of a disruptive impact on employment of moving to a low-carbon economy.

The transition of a fossil fuel dominated economy to a more environmentally friendly energy mix has been raising a lot of attention the last year. A cleaner economy should contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thus keeping the danger of global warming under control. In the first week of December, more than 190 countries are gathering in Paris where they hope to come to a legally binding agreement that keeps global warming below the critical 2°C. This will have, without a doubt, consequences for the European industry and economy.

The European Commission has already taken its responsibility and launched the EU2030 energy strategy one year ago. This framework includes three EU-wide targets: reducing greenhouse gas emissions with 40% (compared with 1990), at least 27% of energy consumption should come from renewables and there should be a reduction of energy use with at least 27%. “The perspective of the Commission is driven by three objectives. We want more energy security, a more competitive energy sector and a more sustainable energy system”, said Marten Westrup, team leader at the Directorate-General Energy (the European equivalent of a national ministry of energy) of the European Commission.
But there are challenges and risks that come with the transition to a more sustainable energy system, especially when it comes to employment. Moving away from industries that base their activities on fossil fuels (such as gas and oil) towards renewables (such as solar energy) and a greener economy, raises fear of a loss of jobs. This should not necessarily have to be the case, said Georgios Dassis, president of the European Economic and Social Committee: “Jobs that will be lost, will be replaced. Renewable energy sectors require more workers than the nuclear sector for example. So we want to support this transition, that can’t be stopped anyway.” This view was not supported entirely. Luca Visentini, the secretary-general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), raised a critical question: “Will these new jobs be permanent and qualitative? Or precarious?”

Asking that question, Visentini pointed out an important aspect of this transition. It is not just a case of replacing a job in the fossil fuel sector with one in the area of renewables. The challenge is much bigger, according to the panellists. “There is also a qualitative aspect of the energy mutation”, said Anne Macey, chief executive of Confrontations Europe. “Workers will require new skills.” Dassis agreed with this point of view: “If we want this evolution to succeed, we need investments in training and education. That is essential.” In that sense, Westrup argued that there should be attention for the changes within energy sectors, because a reduced dependence on fossil fuels implies an increased dependence on technology. This is, for example, already the case in the electricity sector today. The rise of smart grids requires skilled workers, because these grids include data flow and information management. 

The transition to a sustainable energy system is inevitable. It is clear that the new energy system will require skilled workers and investments in new technologies. The investment plan of Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission’s president, which is aimed at delivering strategic investments in the EU, comes right in time.