Finance and Pensions & Investments Blog

In the presentation of the report, Secretary of State for Climate Change, Teresa Ribera, stressed the need to ensure that 100% of jobs are green because the economy and welfare require respectful use and our responsibility is to promote this progressive change. ”

The rise of so-called green jobs in Spain over the last decade has been 235%. According to the report, has grown from 158,500 jobs in 1998 to almost 531,000 in 2009.

After the sector of management and treatment of waste (140,343 jobs), green jobs are concentrated in the renewable energy sector (109,368 jobs), which is the fastest growing when multiplied by 30 in the last decade.

The coordinators of the study, Ana Leiva, director of the Biodiversity Foundation, and Luis M. Jiménez Herrero, director of the Observatory of Sustainability in Spain (OSE) have noted that “progress towards a sustainable economy brings a new start of employment that combines the generation of benefits, reduction of social inequalities and protecting and improving the environment by investing in a new set of assets based on clean and efficient technologies in eco-innovation and renewable energies. ”

New ‘deposits’ employment

Sustainable economy is in the activities of waste management and renewable energy in its main generators of employment, but also analyzes ‘deposits’ employment with sustainability criteria.

The report estimates for 2020 indicate that emerging environmental sectors (eco-industry, renewable energy, sustainable building, sustainable tourism, organic farming and sustainable transport) will have an increase of more than one million jobs.

According to remark the experts on the front pages of the report, “is geared toward the production model and processes that are less intensive in energy and carbon, which will be consolidated, in turn, a strategic response to tackle climate change.”

One of the main characteristics of the global economy when the crisis began in the summer of 2007 was the existence of large external deficits in some countries like the U.S., together with the corresponding surpluses in others, like China. These global imbalances are the result of several factors, one of the major exchange rates.

That concludes the UC3M professor, Juan Antonio Cerón, in a study that will be published shortly in the Journal of Global Economy – published by the Society of Global Economy – with the title ‘Economic Crisis: What role is there for coins and exchange rates? “and has won the 2nd Prize in the Second Edition of the Jose Luis Sampedro, who is also given society.

There have always been external imbalances, but never in history with the magnitude of recent years, says the researcher from the Department of Business Economics from the University of Madrid. “So – points – on the evolution of exchange rates, the price of foreign exchange will determine the resolution of global economic imbalances and to a large extent, the recovery of production in each country and its most important consequence, which is job creation, “said Ceron.

Before the crisis, one of the recurring themes among economists who study international affairs was the exchange rate, says the study, which indicates that the extreme aggressiveness of it has set the exchange rate issues in the background . “Upon moving into the political crisis, some issues become more value than others,” explained the expert. Thus, the subprime mortgage situation at first, the need to shore up banks and other financial sector institutions and then, finally, the impact on the real economy – especially by the rise in unemployment – have grabbed . “Other elements of a more technical and more difficult to treat in front of the public, although they have not lost their importance, have been in the back, a little apart, despite being part of the basic framework of the crisis . The exchange rates – concluded – is one of them. ”

The role of major currencies

The paper published by the economist seeks to deal with the relations between exchange rates, the economic role of the major currencies and the way it is managing the crisis, incorporating the latest contributions in this respect in academia.

The expert points out that the dollar plays a central role in global finance, not only because of U.S. economic strength, but by its use as a vehicle currency in most transactions worldwide, although emphasizing the role that in recent years has acquired the renminbi, China’s currency. “The great economic strength of this country, based so far on exports, has placed its currency in an important position, especially because, unlike with many other currencies, the renminbi exchange rate is set by the government” says Professor Cerón.

When the crisis began, Spain was one of the countries with a greater imbalance in its external accounts. “It happens, however, that the exchange rate of our currency does not depend only on us, but of all euro area countries, with what little we can do for our country to change it,” says professor UC3M, which also indicates that the impact of exchange rates in our economy is not as important as other since most of our foreign trade is precisely countries with the euro as currency.

Any other possible solutions to correct external imbalances? “Save more, something that we’re doing if you look at the latest statistics, and at the same time improving the competitiveness of our products abroad, in order to increase sales,” he says.