Green Recovery: Growing the Economy, Employment, and The Environment

In this article, I’ll be looking at SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, paying special attention to the green recovery plans that some countries and unions have launched. I have five projects that I want to introduce to you, and I encourage you to go away and research them further.

UK – Green Industrial Revolution

In November 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the outline of his ten-point plan for a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’.

Here are some of the key ideas:

250,000 jobs to be created
Investment for clean energy, transport, nature, and innovation
£12bn in investment over the next 9 years
Quadrupling wind power to support every home
Increase low-carbon hydrogen production
More nuclear reactors
Better infrastructure for electric cars and more support for manufacturers
More research into low-carbon tech for planes and ships
Promoting public transport as a low-carbon travel method
Making homes and public buildings more energy-efficient
Becoming a world-leader in carbon capture technology
Protecting and restoring the natural environment
Making London the centre of green global finance
Let’s be honest, this is a pretty solid list, and if the ambition and investment meet the goals, it will certainly go a long way towards the progress that we need. Will it all just be hot air and imagination at the end of the day? Populism has a real knack for telling us what we want to hear.

France and Switzerland – Roadmaps to Net Zero by 2050

France’s ‘National Low Carbon Strategy’ is less specific than the UK in terms of where it will target, but it does give a good overall indication of the direction they plan to move it. These are the key aims to reach carbon neutrality:

Energy production needs to be completely carbon-free by 2050
Reduce energy consumption by 50% in our daily lifestyles
Tackle key industries for carbon reduction, such as agriculture and the industrial industry
Safeguard forests and soil
Promote carbon capture and storage technologies
Working on trade agreements to incentivise sustainable products and methods
Switzerland’s ‘Long-Term Climate Strategy’ is also a roadmap to a net-zero future by 2050. The main points of their strategy are:

Take advantage of the opportunities presented by a systematic transition to net-zero, meaning to leverage the ideas and tech of other nations too
To take responsibility for its climate policy
Placing a priority on domestic emissions
Reducing emissions in all value chains
Find and enact the optimal usage potential of energy sources
Address and pursue net zero in all climate-relevant areas
To act in a socially acceptable and economically viable way
To improve environmental quality
To be open to all types of technology in this strategy
Next Generation EU
Detailing the Next Generation EU project would be very difficult, as it contains €750bn worth of projects, initiatives, ideas, and policies for the 27 member states. Instead, I’ve cherrypicked the highlights.

Click the link below to read the article in full.

External URL: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6813422870253838336?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28*%2Curn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A6813422870253838336%29

By Imvelo

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