sectoral economic costs and benefits of ghg mitigation - IPCC

Fossil Fuels
Most importantly, policies that simultaneously reduce carbon emissions and increase
employment must be pursued proactively and not as an afterthought. The earlier transition
strategies are formulated, the greater the likelihood of success. As indicated above, employment
is already declining in carbon-intensive industries like coal mining, oil refining, and utilities, in
some cases while output continues to grow. But even if the job impacts of climate mitigation
policies are likely to be a net positive, their highly differentiated effects by sector and region
make it essential to educate the public and build solid constituencies - especially laborenvironment
coalitions - for the design and implementation of such policies. Actively decoupling
job creation from carbon output will be a long and difficult process; but the sooner policymakers
begin to craft and carry out the necessary transitions, the lower the risk of social and economic -
as well as climatic - disruptions.
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