Communicate Blog

There is a global transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy, which can create a large numbers of green finance jobs across various sectors of the economy. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan made several references to a Green Economy in his budget speech earlier in the year, but failed to flesh out the government’s approach to growing the sector. What does ‘Green Economy’ really mean?

According to the World Resources Institute a Green Economy can be thought of as an alternative vision for growth and development; one that can generate growth and improvements in people’s lives in ways consistent with sustainable development. A Green Economy promotes a triple bottom line: sustaining and advancing economic, environmental and social well-being.

The transition to a Green Economy has a long way to go, but several countries are demonstrating leadership by adopting national “green growth” or “low carbon” economic strategies. Neighbouring country Namibia is one such example. They are managing their natural resources to generate economic, social, and environmental benefits. Local communities across the country are granted the right to use and capitalize on the benefits of using wildlife and other natural resources within the boundaries of “communal conservancies.” With an economic incentive to sustainably manage these areas, food and employment in finance and other sectors is being provided for hundreds of thousands of Namibians in rural areas. More than half of the jobs are filled by women, and wildlife populations have increased.

In South Africa a renewed focus will fall on our own progress in this regard with the United Nation’s Conference of the Parties Climate Negotiation (COP-17) hosted in Durban starting this week.

The Western Cape had set itself a target to achieve a 15% shift to renewable energy generation by 2014, which have the potential to create 20 000 jobs in finance and other sectors and attract R45-billion worth of investment into the province over the next ten years. Gordhan did indicate that funding would be allocated for renewable energy, environmental protection, and green economy initiatives.

However, the transitioning to a Green Economy will require a fundamental shift in thinking about growth and development, production of goods and services, and consumer habits. If you are looking for financial experts that are able to think out of the box and help build a Green Economy, give us a call! Communicate Personnel is a specialist financial recruitment agency that will find you the right person for the job.