{"id":14230,"date":"2011-03-08T21:35:32","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T02:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/static\/?p=14230"},"modified":"2012-02-03T09:02:24","modified_gmt":"2012-02-03T14:02:24","slug":"for-every-green-job-created-3-7-jobs-are-lost-united-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/2011\/for-every-green-job-created-3-7-jobs-are-lost-united-kingdom\/","title":{"rendered":"For every “green job” created, 3.7 jobs are lost (United Kingdom)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s introduction<\/em>: \u00a0Compare this study to a comparable analysis done for Spain<\/a> several years ago, where economists discovered that \u00a02.2 jobs were destroyed<\/a> for every \u201cgreen job\u201d created.<\/span><\/p>\n

Obama, are you reading this? \u00a0Ontario Premier McGuinty, are you reading this? \u00a0(Are the lunatics running the asylum, after all?)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7<\/span>
\nThe Economic Impact of Renewable Energy Policy in Scotland and the UK<\/h4>\n

\u2014Richard Marsh & Tom Miers, Verso Economics<\/a> (March 2011)<\/p>\n

Executive Summary<\/a><\/p>\n

I.<\/span> This report examines the costs and benefits of government policy to support the\u00a0renewable energy industry in Scotland and the UK. The Scottish Government in\u00a0particular is promoting the renewables sector as an economic opportunity, and the\u00a0purpose of this report is to assess whether this is justified. The report therefore does\u00a0not investigate measures designed to reduce carbon emissions directly, nor does it\u00a0consider the merits of renewable technology as part of the attempts to slow climate\u00a0change.<\/p>\n

II.<\/span> The report\u2019s key finding is that for every job created in the UK in renewable\u00a0energy, 3.7 jobs are lost. In Scotland there is no net benefit from government\u00a0support for the sector, and probably a small net loss of jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Green Energy busts jobs<\/span><\/h6>\n

III.<\/span> The lower level of job displacement in Scotland is because of the greater\u00a0concentration of renewable energy generation in Scotland. This means that\u00a0electricity consumers and UK taxpayers subsidised the Scottish industry by c\u00a0\u00a3330m in 2009\/10 over and above subsidies paid for by Scottish taxpayers and\u00a0consumers. To the extent that the Scottish industry is a success, it is reliant on the\u00a0wider UK policy making framework, in particular the Renewables Obligation\u00a0Certificate (ROC) scheme.<\/p>\n

IV.<\/span> The main policy tool used to promote renewable energy generation is the\u00a0Renewables Obligation, which effectively raises the market price paid for electricity\u00a0from renewable sources. This scheme cost electricity consumers \u00a31.1bn in the UK\u00a0and around \u00a3100m in Scotland in 2009\/10. The UK government plans similar\u00a0schemes to promote renewable heat and renewable fuels. <\/p>\n

V.<\/span> In addition, both the UK and Scottish Governments have introduced a wide range of\u00a0grants and subsidies for the renewables industry. These are estimated at \u00a3188m UK\u00a0wide and an additional \u00a322m in Scotland in 2009\/10. Further, an exemption from the\u00a0Climate Change Levy for renewable generation costs HMRC \u00a377m UK wide and\u00a0\u00a325m in Scotland in lost tax revenue.<\/p>\n

VI.<\/span> The renewable energy sector imposes other indirect costs on the economy, mainly\u00a0from its impact on the local environment and landscape. While there has been some\u00a0research into aspects of this, there is no conclusive data, so these costs are not\u00a0included in the calculations used in this report. In total, measurable policies to\u00a0promote renewable energy cost \u00a31.4bn UK wide and \u00a3168m in Scotland in 2009\/10.<\/p>\n

VII.<\/span> A number of studies have attempted to measure the wider impacts of such policies.\u00a0Research in Spain, Germany and by the EU suggests that net employment effects\u00a0are negative with the likely opportunity cost, or costs associated with higher energy\u00a0prices, outstripping the creation of green jobs. Many of these studies cite possible\u00a0localised benefits during the construction phase of renewable energy infrastructure\u00a0and the potential for longer term benefits if export markets can be established.<\/p>\n

VIII.<\/span> This report uses the Scottish Government\u2019s own macroeconomic model for Scotland\u00a0to assess the impact of identified costs on jobs. A similar model was used by the\u00a0Scottish Government to measure the opportunity cost of the cut in VAT implemented\u00a0in 2008-09. Based on this, policy to promote renewable energy in the UK has an\u00a0opportunity cost of 10,000 direct jobs in 2009\/10 and 1,200 jobs in Scotland.<\/p>\n

IX.<\/span> The economic benefits that derive from the renewable energy sector are hard to\u00a0assess because the industry is difficult to measure as a clearly-defined sector.\u00a0However, employment figures cited by those promoting renewable energy are often\u00a0greatly exaggerated, exceeding official employment figures covering the whole of the\u00a0energy sector.<\/p>\n

X.<\/span> Extrapolating from wider energy industry data, and comparing this to estimates from\u00a0government and industry bodies, total direct employment in renewable energy\u00a0generation can be estimated at 2,700 in the UK and 1,100 in Scotland in 2009\/10.<\/p>\n

XI.<\/span> In conclusion, policy to promote the renewable electricity sector in both Scotland and\u00a0the UK is economically damaging. Government should not see this as an economic\u00a0opportunity, therefore, but should focus debate instead on whether these costs, and\u00a0the damage done to the environment, are worth the candle in terms of climate change\u00a0mitigation.<\/p>\n

XII.<\/span> In Scotland, it should be recognised that the industry is reliant on UK wide support.\u00a0Scottish policy making in isolation would be much more expensive. The Scottish\u00a0Government, like its counterparts in the rest of the UK, should establish much more\u00a0accurate figures on the extent of the industry to engender a more rational debate on\u00a0the subject.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s introduction: \u00a0Compare this study to a comparable analysis done for Spain several years ago, where economists discovered that \u00a02.2 jobs were destroyed for every \u201cgreen job\u201d created. Obama, are you reading this? \u00a0Ontario Premier McGuinty, are you reading this? \u00a0(Are the lunatics running the asylum, after all?) \u00b7 The Economic Impact of Renewable Energy Policy in Scotland and the UK \u2014Richard Marsh & Tom Miers, Verso Economics (March 2011) Executive Summary I. This report examines the costs and benefits of government policy to support the\u00a0renewable energy industry in Scotland and the UK. The Scottish Government in\u00a0particular is promoting the renewables sector as an economic opportunity, and the\u00a0purpose of this report is to assess whether this is justified. The report therefore does\u00a0not investigate measures designed to reduce carbon emissions directly, nor does it\u00a0consider the merits of renewable technology as part of the attempts to slow climate\u00a0change. II. The report\u2019s key finding is that for every job created in the UK in renewable\u00a0energy, 3.7 jobs are lost. In Scotland there is no net benefit from government\u00a0support for the sector, and probably a small net loss of jobs. Green Energy busts jobs III. The lower level of job displacement in Scotland is because of the greater\u00a0concentration of renewable energy generation in Scotland. This means that\u00a0electricity consumers and UK taxpayers subsidised the Scottish industry by c\u00a0\u00a3330m in 2009\/10 over and above subsidies paid for by Scottish taxpayers and\u00a0consumers. To the extent that the Scottish industry is a success, it is reliant on the\u00a0wider UK policy making framework, in particular the Renewables Obligation\u00a0Certificate (ROC) scheme. IV. The main policy tool used to promote renewable energy generation is the\u00a0Renewables Obligation, which effectively raises the market price paid for electricity\u00a0from renewable sources. This scheme cost electricity consumers \u00a31.1bn in the UK\u00a0and around \u00a3100m in Scotland inRead More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,173],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}