The transition to a green economy will not necessarily mean job losses, but there are some barriers that need to be overcome in order to ensure a successful transition. The need to align local and national strategies towards green growth, build strong partnerships, identify transferable skills, better target up-skilling programmes, support green entrepreneurship, and leverage the role of public authorities in supporting green growth activities are some of the recommendations emanating from a report just released by the LEED Programme, on Enabling Local Green Growth: Addressing Climate Change Effects on Employment and Local Development. The recommendations are illustrated by good practice models identified from across the globe.
This report is concerned with challenges and opportunities to grow local economic activity, employment and skills in response to climate change. Globally, there is a broad consensus that urgent action is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More countries are establishing targets and programmes to reduce emissions and, increasingly countries are putting a price on carbon pollution. While at the macro level the implications of climate change are widely acknowledged and acted upon, it is at the local level that impacts need to be considered in detail. The barriers to the transition to a low-carbon economy are most acutely experienced at the local level.