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Taking the necessary steps to supply the world with renewable energy is affordable, according to a landmark IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.)
Operating under the auspices of the UN, the IPCC report concludes that diverting funds from fossil fuels to renewable energy and cutting waste needn’t cripple the global economy. In fact, it has been calculated that only a mere 0.06% need be lost from anticipated annual economic growth rates of between 1.3% and 3%. The IPCC report is the work of 1,250 international experts and comes with the approval of 194 governments.
IPCC report highlights affordability
Imperial College London professor, Jim Skea, told the The Guardian that the IPCC’s recommendations for reducing carbon emissions were also achievable. “It is actually affordable to do it and people are not going to have to sacrifice their aspirations about improved standards of living,” said Skea, an energy expert at Imperial who is also a co-chair of the IPCC report team.
If renewable energy companies are to be the driving force behind the monumental global effort to become more environmentally conscious, then they are going to need business leaders, funders as well as policy and technology experts to meet the expansion. The stage therefore looks set for MBA graduates interested in entering the world of energy management to make a difference.
What exactly are green jobs?
Renewable energy is an example of an industry where green jobs are to be found, but others are out there. According to the United Nations Environment Program, green jobs constitute a range of professions that help ‘preserve or restore environmental quality’. This includes work related to conservation, biodiversity and recycling in addition to green jobs in renewable energy and those working to reduce carbon emissions and pollution.
A useful survey of the field at your disposal when considering opportunities of this ilk can be found with Net Impact.
Working directly with alternative or renewable energy could include roles aimed at maximizing the effectiveness and driving down the costs of renewable energy, be it derived from solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, biofuel or geothermal sources. Elsewhere, you could be involved more in the industry’s infrastructure (e.g. storage and distribution), or in improving energy efficiency through elements of building design. There are also opportunities to explore within the transport industry, for a company producing vehicles powered by renewable energy, either for public transport providers or for private individual use.
Green jobs available in different sectors include those concerned with waste reduction and recycling. However, they can also include the more traditional MBA roles of investment and consulting, provided it’s for the right company. RockPort Capital, for instance, is a venture capital firm specifically looking at the energy and sustainability market. Meanwhile, Clean Edge offers research and consultancy services for any application of ‘clean technology’, and Green For All is a non-profit dedicated to developing policies and building collaborations between businesses that it hopes will create more, and better, green jobs.
Entering energy management
In light of global demand, the energy management sector looks set to grow rapidly in the near future. Therefore, leaders will need to have a strong capacity for innovation and implementing (as well as responding to) change in order to maximize a company’s potential for expansion and ensuing success.
Teaching these management skills is now central to a large number of MBA programs and initiatives, specifically in the US, such as EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) Climate Corps, allow MBA students from leading US business schools to gain hands-on experience.
There are now also specialized energy management MBA programs on offer. Warwick Business School in the UK, for example, has a three-year Global Energy MBA where the onus is on providing strategic direction for the industry through exploring today’s key trends and challenges in energy management.
Back in the US, the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business offers an energy finance concentration to its full-time MBA to help students better understand the price fluctuations affecting the energy industry as a whole and to build applicable risk management skills. Meanwhile, at the Wharton School, students can major in Environmental and Risk Management.
So, if you’re looking for an MBA career with a propensity for environmental good, the options for study are there. Jobs are also available in a variety of differing functions, and you may even find yourself being part of a company that expands opportunities in the arena of green jobs. Kaisa Kosonen of Greenpeace International laid down the challenge of reforming the Earth’s energy ways in a press release that accompanied news of the IPCC report. “Renewable energy has expanded, fallen in price and is ready to challenge traditional, polluting forms of energy. There is still time to prevent catastrophic levels of global warming,” she said.
Tim is a writer with a background in consumer journalism and charity communications. He trained as a journalist in the UK and holds degrees in history (BA) and Latin American studies (MA).
Can Green Jobs Usher in the Age of Renewable Energy?
By Tim Dhoul
Updated August 29, 2019 Updated August 29, 2019Taking the necessary steps to supply the world with renewable energy is affordable, according to a landmark IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.)
Operating under the auspices of the UN, the IPCC report concludes that diverting funds from fossil fuels to renewable energy and cutting waste needn’t cripple the global economy. In fact, it has been calculated that only a mere 0.06% need be lost from anticipated annual economic growth rates of between 1.3% and 3%. The IPCC report is the work of 1,250 international experts and comes with the approval of 194 governments.
IPCC report highlights affordability
Imperial College London professor, Jim Skea, told the The Guardian that the IPCC’s recommendations for reducing carbon emissions were also achievable. “It is actually affordable to do it and people are not going to have to sacrifice their aspirations about improved standards of living,” said Skea, an energy expert at Imperial who is also a co-chair of the IPCC report team.
It’s welcome news which should help fuel the increasing appeal of ethical MBA careers along with a potential boost for careers in energy management.
If renewable energy companies are to be the driving force behind the monumental global effort to become more environmentally conscious, then they are going to need business leaders, funders as well as policy and technology experts to meet the expansion. The stage therefore looks set for MBA graduates interested in entering the world of energy management to make a difference.
What exactly are green jobs?
A useful survey of the field at your disposal when considering opportunities of this ilk can be found with Net Impact.
Working directly with alternative or renewable energy could include roles aimed at maximizing the effectiveness and driving down the costs of renewable energy, be it derived from solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, biofuel or geothermal sources. Elsewhere, you could be involved more in the industry’s infrastructure (e.g. storage and distribution), or in improving energy efficiency through elements of building design. There are also opportunities to explore within the transport industry, for a company producing vehicles powered by renewable energy, either for public transport providers or for private individual use.
Green jobs available in different sectors include those concerned with waste reduction and recycling. However, they can also include the more traditional MBA roles of investment and consulting, provided it’s for the right company. RockPort Capital, for instance, is a venture capital firm specifically looking at the energy and sustainability market. Meanwhile, Clean Edge offers research and consultancy services for any application of ‘clean technology’, and Green For All is a non-profit dedicated to developing policies and building collaborations between businesses that it hopes will create more, and better, green jobs.
Entering energy management
Teaching these management skills is now central to a large number of MBA programs and initiatives, specifically in the US, such as EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) Climate Corps, allow MBA students from leading US business schools to gain hands-on experience.
There are now also specialized energy management MBA programs on offer. Warwick Business School in the UK, for example, has a three-year Global Energy MBA where the onus is on providing strategic direction for the industry through exploring today’s key trends and challenges in energy management.
Back in the US, the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business offers an energy finance concentration to its full-time MBA to help students better understand the price fluctuations affecting the energy industry as a whole and to build applicable risk management skills. Meanwhile, at the Wharton School, students can major in Environmental and Risk Management.
So, if you’re looking for an MBA career with a propensity for environmental good, the options for study are there. Jobs are also available in a variety of differing functions, and you may even find yourself being part of a company that expands opportunities in the arena of green jobs. Kaisa Kosonen of Greenpeace International laid down the challenge of reforming the Earth’s energy ways in a press release that accompanied news of the IPCC report. “Renewable energy has expanded, fallen in price and is ready to challenge traditional, polluting forms of energy. There is still time to prevent catastrophic levels of global warming,” she said.
This article was originally published in April 2014 . It was last updated in August 2019
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Tim is a writer with a background in consumer journalism and charity communications. He trained as a journalist in the UK and holds degrees in history (BA) and Latin American studies (MA).
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