impact of the green economy on jobs in South Africa

Greening the economy has been posited as the way to spur job growth after the global economic crisis and to steer the economy onto a more sustainable trajectory. Reports by major international organisations such as UNEP, the World Bank and the OECD argue that “green growth” can lead to a greater increase in employment than growth in traditional industries. Yet, there is much uncertainty about this potential job growth, and about its achievement in practice. Much seems to depend on the national context, the size of the financial stimulus, the ability to deliver and implement industrial policy and skills training, and the costs of clean energy. These issues are explored by referring to both international and local case studies on green job growth.