According to a report* by environmental consulting firm The Pembina Institute published March 15, more jobs would be created than destroyed by implementing strong climate change policies.
The report, titled “Reducing Pollution, Creating Jobs,” estimates that renewable energies would create more jobs than fossil energy and encourages the application of measures in accordance.
The Institute has calculated that three times as many jobs would have been created (238,000 instead of 84,000) if the government had devoted 100% of stimulus spending in the Economic Action Plan to renewable energies instead of infrastructure. The 8% share of spending on green projects has nevertheless already generated 20,000 jobs. For comparison purposes, the report cites China, which has invested almost 38% of its stimulus spending on clean energy such as solar and wind power.
According to the Pembina Institute, the energy production sector as a whole currently accounts for about 1.8% of Canada’s total workforce (300,000 workers). The government has set itself the target of reducing greenhouse gases by 17% between 2005 and 2020.