sectoral economic costs and benefits of ghg mitigation - IPCC

Fossil Fuels
sustainable energy economy - creating jobs in energy efficiency and public transit systems, for
instance.
Governments may decide to return the remainder to taxpayers, and that money would then be respent
across the entire economy, replicating existing patterns of demand for goods and services -
and creating more jobs than would have been supported in the fossil fuel industry. Alternatively,
these funds could be used to reduce labor costs. Studies suggest that lowering employers’
contributions to national health or social security funds can be a powerful stimulant for job
creation.
Although the losers may be outnumbered by the winners, some workers will be hurt in the
economic restructuring - primarily those in mining, fossil fuels, and smokestack industries. At
least some, and perhaps many, of the displaced individuals will not have the requisite skills for
the new jobs without retraining, or the new jobs may arise primarily in other locations. Regions
and countries that depend heavily on extractive and carbon-intensive industries will confront a
substantial challenge to diversify their economies.
Public policy should facilitate the transition to a sustainable energy economy by assisting
affected individuals and communities; this may involve retraining and skill-enhancing programs
and special regional development programs. The longer that necessary changes are postponed,
the greater the risk of social and economic disruption. Resistance to climate mitigation policies
may prove more of a “job killer” than embracing such policies in strategic fashion.
Figure 3. World Coal Consumption, 1950-99
4000
Million Tons
Source: UN, BP Amoco
3500
3000
China
2500
2000
United States
1500
India
1000
Rest of World
500
0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
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