WWF report: Green energy technology set to become an industrial mammoth
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Chicago Center for Green Technology. Photo: swanksalot (CC)
Green energy technology is on target to become the third biggest industrial sector worldwide before 2020 according to the report, which was published today.
Today's release of the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) report, “Clean Economy, Living Planet - Building Strong Clean Energy Technology Industries,” comes just as the Copenhagen conference on climate issues is grappling with how best to coordinate future efforts to resolve negative climate-related phenomena.
If the report’s conclusions prove to be correct, the green energy sector will come in just behind the automobile and electronics sectors.
Worldwide sales of clean technology using solar power, wind power, biocarburants (biofuels) and energy-saving technologies reached $630 billion in 2007, placing them higher than pharmaceutical sales. Clean technology sales are expected to increase to $1600 billion by 2020.
Using an International Energy Agency (IEA) scenario which aims to reduce CO² emissions to 450 ppm (parts per million), the growth rate for green energy technology is predicted to go up by 15 percent each year and 5 percent for energy efficient technology. These figures could go higher still if Copenhagen results in a decisive and fully implemented agreement.
The report states that in terms of absolute financial value, Germany, the United States and Japan are the current leaders in the green technology market, closely followed by China, whose market share is predicted to rise rapidly.
Using percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product – the market value of all goods and services produced by a given country) criteria, Denmark comes out on top. Denmark is the recognized world leader in the windmill and insulation material markets. Brazil is second, thanks to its sales of bioethanol, and Germany, which is becoming a major player in the field of solar energy, comes in third.
The study concludes with a review of mechanisms which could further improve the development of green energy technologies.
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But a new report out of Spain says if that country is any indication, Americans shouldn't be depending on green jobs to help the U.S. economy.
Gabriel Calzada Alvarez, a professor, has released a study with startling claims about what's happened in Spain and what he predicts will play out in America.
Calzada says for every green job that's created with government funding, 2.2 regular jobs are lost and that only one in 10 green jobs wind up being permanent.
With billions slated to go toward similar programs in the U.S. the study is sparking new concerns.
Your comment brings up a lot of issues effectively, and similar stories are zipping around France's green power situation.
This is a juggling act because, whilst it is true that some jobs have been temporary (like propane driven cars in France which sold well for a year and then, after a couple of explosions, the market collapsed) the fact remains that those countries who do manage to develop these technologies in an organised and sustainable manner will be the economic 'winners' in the future when they will become essential.
Maybe it's all about timing and degree?
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