The Green Edge Reports Roundup, Jan-23
Continuing with our selection of reports and other publications from this month’s reading list.
General
Mission Zero: Independent Review of Net Zero
The Skidmore Review, January 2023
A wide ranging and powerful review urging greater progress across all fronts for net zero. Clearly points to the need for central government leadership, co-ordination and consistency (stability), and local government capacity to deliver and modify policy tailored to meet specific needs. See our separate post and podcast on the review. Skills do a get a good mention (recommendations 59, 60 and 61) and place the Green Jobs Delivery Group at the centre of the need to make progress. We look forward to seeing the UK Government’s response.
We see golden nuggets throughout the report: on jobs and employment (for example see para 589 on warmer homes: 500,000 new jobs and worth £174.4bn to the economy); on the need to speed-up hydrogen (see para 329); and the need for the skilled workforce for the transition (see paras 495-505).
Green Growth: The UK is Falling Behind
CBI, January 2023
A short document but one in which we were startled by a table capturing the level of GDP devoted to green investment. It tells us the UK is currently at 1.2% of GDP versus France at 2.5% and Germany at 5.2%. A simple, stark message which further underlines one of the core themes of the Skidmore Review: we have much to do and need to move quickly. We found ourselves wondering if somebody like Data City could investigate this further by dropping down to Government spending local area, city and city-region levels.
Green Growth: Opportunities for the UK
A report for Lloyds Banking Group by Oxford Economics, July 2021
A typically robust report with some powerful, simple messages. The rate of investment across the UK needs to run at c£50bn a year from 2025 to 2050 to deliver net zero (40% in energy generation and distribution, and 24% in transport). Over this whole period we need to invest £253bn in domestic decarbonisation. Drawing on existing work, the report pulls together projections for green jobs, range from 200-400,000 currently and rising to 1.4mn (Ecuity) or perhaps even 2.5mn (Ricardo). It then extends the analysis to look at impacted jobs by sector, with construction being the highest (60% of jobs), then manufacturing (50%) and motor trades (45%). Again, a simple message: reskilling and upskilling are vital for a just transition to net zero.
An excellent report pulling together the latest and best work on the move to a green economy.
Green Skills
Climate Change and Environmental Skills Strategy: Action Plan
Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, January 2023
An important document from IfATE showing its proactive stance on the greening of the 800+ standards under the custodianship of its Green Advisory Panel. It would be helpful if IfATE could take one step further here and database its standards, categorising by sectors and adding individual standard statements based on their ‘greenness’ using the emerging definitions from the ONS. The occupations listed as becoming green in the NOCN report (see below) would also be good to test out. Perhaps IfATE could even adopt the Brookings Institution green skills framework (also see below).
A New Green Learning Agenda: Approaches to Quality Education for Climate Action
Brookings Institution, 2021
This report takes the green skills thinking beyond the immediate and those required to largely install and operate green technologies, broadening into green life skills (generic capacities) and skills for a green transformation (transformative capacities). We see this as being an important extension of the green skills framework thinking to which could be added those required in the green skills infrastructure, like those delivered in an education and training setting. Our concern here is that too much of the green skills discussion is narrow and doesn’t open up wider opportunities or engage everyone across society. The Skidmore Review (see above) raises both the individual and community aspects of net zero - these need to feature in our skills thinking.
Greening the UK’s Skills
NOCN Group and British Association of Construction Heads, November 2022
Take a look at Appendix A here: it lists out a series of possible new or newly-created occupations, identifying around 60 across domestic and commercial solar (19); hydrogen (9); energy efficiency (2); heat pump design, manufacture, distribution and installation (8); EV charging installation (2); construction (including maintenance) (20); carbon capture utilisation and storage (8); and environment, agriculture and general (4). For those interested in defining green jobs, this is a useful list to start with in a number of key green sectors.
Greening the Economy: Employment and Skills Aspects
Business Europe, October 2021
We found two aspects of this work useful: first, the focus on transition to net zero and their sector by sector review; and second, the drop from the review into national case studies. By understanding the nature of the transition we can start to see the positive and negative employment impacts of net zero, and how best to support appropriate skills development to maintain work currency.
Do green jobs differ from non-green jobs in terms of skills and human capital?
SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-16 (May) and Research Policy, 45(5), 2016, 1046-1060
This report uses our old pal O*NET, looking across its 905 occupations and identifying 50 green energy and 61 green enhanced occupations. We learn the largest number of green occupations are found in architecture and engineering (19 green; 13 enhanced). Deeper into the report the authors use patent data (Table A1 – Environmental patent classes using the ENV-TECH Indicator data from the OECD), which is granular, dropping from 7 macro-categories into 33 sub-categories and then into 164 specific IPC (CPC) classes. We’ve also seen others using patent data to identify emerging and new skills. It’s a pity that this analysis doesn’t go to the next stage and probe the emerging potential categorisation of green skills into those that drive green innovation, green technology improvement and adaptation, operating and maintaining green technologies, and so on.
Greening TVET: A Practical Guide for Institutions
UNESCO, 2017
This guide is 5 years old but the framework is still a great starting point for those wanting to review their education and training institution’s green progress. Covers the campus (7 elements), the curriculum (14 elements), research (5 elements), community and the workplace (5 elements), and culture (12 elements).
Net Zero Living: Fast Followers
Innovate UK, January 2023
The aim of this competition (yes, yet another one!) is to support local authorities in up to 20 places and find a dedicated Net Zero Innovation and Delivery Officer role. The funding will help further develop net zero delivery plans, improve delivery pathways and enable adoption of innovative products and services. Investment runs at £300,000 per place over two years. The lead body for this competition must be a local authority - LA’s, take note!
Retrofitting
Trends in District Heating Pipework.
Rehau, November 2022
Admittedly a commercial marketing document but it is instructive for those wishing to understand further the potential of district heating systems.
Heat Pumps in 2021: EU Market and Global Outlook
European Heat Pump Association, July 2022
Understanding the progress on heat pump installations is important as a way of monitoring the decarbonisation of domestic properties. This update on sales and installations across Europe includes figures on employment driven by heat pumps. We learn there are 116,679 FTEs across Europe, split between manufacturing (44,000/37.4%); installation (36,000/30.6%); component manufacturing (22,000/18.7%); and service and maintenance (15,000/13.2%). Useful to get a feel for the one-off and ongoing jobs arising from heat pumps.
Evaluation of the Supply Chain Demonstrator Project
Final Evaluation Project
BEIS Research Paper No. 2021/055
BEIS Electrification of Heat
Participation Recruitment Report, 2022
BEIS Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project
Home Surveys and Install Report, December 2022
Taking these three project reports together provides an excellent insight into the challenges around domestic decarbonisation. The third report covers the major barriers to progress (pages 52-53, Table 7 Reason code options where a heat pump was not recommended) and raises skills issues, and should focus attention of policy makers on where intervention and actions are needed. These might need to be modified in the light of the recent increase in the levels of activity by the major energy providers like Octopus Energy and British Gas.
British Gas Net Zero Homes Index
Centrica, January 2023
Provides a simple way of gauging individual citizen opinion and potential actions to achieve net zero.
Cutting Energy Bills and Raising Standards for Private Renters
E3G, January 2023
A further input into our understanding of the whole domestic decarbonisation, this time in the rental sector. Shows the power of using standards to drive change and reduce emissions.
Other Energy Sources
Biomass for UK Energy
POST Note 690 UK Parliament, January 2023
Not a skills document, but it does show the potential for biomass in a short, readable format. Did you know that biomass currently supplies around 13% of UK energy? Yet biomass rarely features in green skills documents. Perhaps it’s time to address this and support the likely increased importance of biomass-derived energy going forward.
Wider Labour Market Issues
The Impact of the Post-Brexit Migration System on the UK Labour Market
Centre for European Reform, UKICE Working Paper 01/2023, January 2023
It’s clear the immediate supply of fully skilled people is impacted by Brexit. But as we read this report - and leaving aside the Brexit element - the thought went through our minds regarding the supply of skilled people to engage in the green economy. It would be great to see this piece of work re-run from a green and sustainable skilled labour marker perspective.
Global Workforce of the Future: Unravelling the Talent Conundrum
The Adecco Group, 2022
One of the mega-trends identified in this report is the transition to a green economy (see pages 44-45). While it is not a major concern overall, we do see it being over 50% in both Australia and China. Levels of concern as potential indicators of the need to manage and support?
Other
State of the Industry: Insights into the EV Charging Infrastructure Ecosystem
Charge Up Europe
Shows the stark contrast across Europe: from 700 public EV charge points per 100,000 inhabitants in Netherlands to 78 in Germany.
Systems Elements Influencing the Emergence of Learning Pathways from a Green Skills Approach
Rhodes University, 2017
A useful summary of developments and thinking in South Africa which we will be reporting on over the coming months.
Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan: Delivering a Fair and Secure Zero Carbon Energy System for Scotland
Scottish Government, January 2023
Jobs and skills do get a mention but only way down at page 171. Again, the strategy is seeking to be inclusive and expansive at the same time. Sends robust signals as to the direction of travel and likely timescales.
The Economics of EV for Passenger Transportation
World Bank, November 2022
A thorough and up-to-date review of EV-based public transport, highlighting the potential of truly rapid charging systems for vehicles travelling along regular, predetermined routes. The UK and specific cities are progressing EV public transit systems and there is much to learn here about types of technologies and the work ahead.
ETF Skills Lab Network of Experts
Call for Joint Research Proposals, January 2023
This is a call for bids to cover the greening of economies, and skills needs, gaps, and mismatches. We’ll keep an eye on this one.
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