Green Jobs Have Not Yet Surged in Spain, But Have Great Potential

The Spanish job market is notable for its economic downturn during the 2008 recession, which led to a 6-year-long financial crisis, also known as the Great Recession or the Great Spanish Depression. While much of the world also suffered in 2008, the Spanish crisis lasted much longer and dug itself more deeply into Spanish society than in most other places. At the epicenter of this crisis was unemployment. In 2012, the unemployment level rose to nearly 25%, and for a long time, the unemployment rate for young people, especially those under 25, was reported to be around 50%. Fortunately, Spain is now in a much more stable place, but the crisis was so grim that its effects have proved long-lasting, and Spain unfortunately still has a high unemployment rate of 16%.

One area where Spain has particularly struggled to create new jobs is in the environmental sector. While the general economy and job market have come somewhat back to normalcy, creating a “new” job sector has proved to be even more difficult than recovering old, lost jobs. Green jobs, jobs that produce goods or services benefiting the environment or that create more environmentally friendly production processes, are currently 2.4% of the Spanish GDP, with a total of ~500,000 green jobs in the nation.

Joaquín Nieto, head of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office in Madrid, claims that “the green economy presents a good opportunity to increase competitiveness, promote the creation of quality employment and reduce the economy’s environmental impact.” Current green jobs include energy, transportation, construction, waste management (more specifically, recycling), as well as some industrial areas, such as iron, steel, cement, and paper. As these sectors are broad, they span the entire country; however, it is much more likely for money to be spent towards sustainability in the more developed, urban areas, such as Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.

The future of Spanish job growth lies in expansion into more rural areas, especially in the agricultural sectors. Viniculture is a monster industry with much room for sustainable growth and also pairs well with tourism, another huge cash cow for Spain. Sustainable tourism packages are becoming more popular and encompassed into the green job realm. The Spanish government has already begun to look towards this pocket of industry as a potential economic star for 2030.

Activity Rating: ****Moving Forward

Although Spain’s general economy has continually struggled since the early 2000s, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not helped in the least, green jobs are one place where growth is still achievable. Since Spain is legally obligated to meet the European Union’s climate standards, they must continue to push their society in a greener direction, and green jobs are the perfect place to start (and to continue for a long, long time).

Take Action

Alert Message:

Dear Señora Calviño,

We again write to you with gratitude for your hard work during this challenging time, both for Spain and for the entire world, as we cope with the immediate and long-lasting effects of the COVID–19 pandemic. We continue to empathize with the situation and your position as Minister of the Economy, imagining how difficult the job must be right now. We agree that the economy must recover and we would like to suggest some ways to help you do just that. As you are probably already aware, green jobs producing goods or services benefiting the environment and creating more environmentally friendly production processes are currently only 2.4% of the Spanish GDP, with a total of ~500,000 green jobs in the nation. We urge you to grow this percentage and to use green jobs as a springboard to a healthier and more sustainable Spanish economy. There is a great opportunity here for some of the green jobs already showcased in areas such as transportation, construction, and waste management. Please grow these jobs more, especially those in the recycling sector of waste management. We also urge you to take advantage of the opportunities shown to you in the industrial areas of iron, steel, cement, and paper. Making the change over to a greener economy will not only help keep Spain afloat economically during this hard time, but it will also pave the way for a more sustainable economy and a more sustainable Spain.

Thank you,

(Your name here).

Contact:

Nadia Calviño Santamaría

Vicepresidenta tercera y ministra de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital

de la Castellana, 162. 28071 – Madrid

+34 91 258 28 52

Twitter: @NadiaCalvino

Post submitted by Spain Country Manager Samantha Pettigrew

Image Source: https://www.treehugger.com/spanish-green-jobs-study-is-back-4865007

Al año 2030: Trabajos sustentables aún no se aumentan en España, pero existe un gran potencial

El mercado laboral en España se destaca por su recesión económica durante la recesión de 2008, que condujo a una crisis financiera de 6 años, también conocida como la Gran Recesión o la Gran Depresión española. Si bien una gran parte del mundo también sufrió en 2008, la crisis en España duró mucho más y fue mucho más profundo en la sociedad española que en la mayoría de los otros lugares. En el epicentro de esta crisis se encontraba el desempleo. En 2012, el nivel de desempleo aumentó a casi el 25 % y, durante mucho tiempo, la tasa de desempleo de los jóvenes menores de 25 años rondaba el 50 %. Afortunadamente, España se encuentra ahora en un lugar mucho más estable, pero la crisis fue tan grave que sus efectos persisten y, lamentablemente, España todavía tiene una alta tasa de desempleo del 16 %.

España ha luchado especialmente fuerte para crear nuevos trabajos en el sector del medioambiente. Si bien la economía y el mercado de trabajo en general han vuelto a la normalidad, la creación de un “nuevo” sector de trabajo ha resultado ser incluso más difícil que recuperar los trabajos ya perdidos. Los empleos sustentables, o “verdes”, empleos que producen bienes o servicios que benefician al medioambiente o que crean procesos de producción más respetuosos al medioambiente, representan hoy en día el 2,4 % del PIB español, con un total de ~ 500.000 empleos verdes en la nación.

Joaquín Nieto, director de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) en Madrid, afirma que “la economía verde presenta una buena oportunidad para aumentar la competitividad, promover la creación de empleo de calidad y reducir el impacto ambiental de la economía”. Los empleos verdes actuales incluyen energía, transporte, construcción, gestión de residuos (más específicamente, el reciclaje), así como algunas áreas industriales, como hierro, acero, cemento y papel. Como estos sectores son amplios, abarcan todo el país; sin embargo, es mucho más probable que se gaste dinero en sostenibilidad en las áreas urbanas más desarrolladas, como Madrid, Barcelona y Valencia.

El futuro del crecimiento económica en España pasa por la expansión hacia zonas más rurales, especialmente en los sectores agrícolas. La vinicultura es una industria muy grande con mucho espacio para el crecimiento sostenible y también se combina bien con el turismo, otra gran fuente de ingresos para España. Los paquetes de turismo sostenible son cada vez más populares y se incluyen en el sector de trabajos sustentables. El gobierno español ya ha comenzado a mirar hacia este tipo de turismo como una potencial estrella económica para 2030.