Green transition presents $10trn opportunity for global economy

12th January 2023


New green industries could be worth more than $10trn (£8.2trn) to the global economy by 2050, which would be equivalent to over 5% of the world’s GDP that year, a new report claims.

The report from Arup and Oxford Economics draws on the expertise of climate specialists, economists and sectoral experts, identifying “three pillars of opportunity” that will emerge from the green transition.

Firstly, it explains how the switch to clean energy will create competitive opportunities across all industries, and how businesses adapting to changing demands and hiring capable talent quickly, will benefit most.

Secondly, the report identifies the direct contribution to GDP of electric vehicles manufacturing, renewable power generation, clean energy equipment manufacturing, renewable fuels and green finance.

Thirdly, it highlights substantial productivity benefits, with the combination of carbon pricing and investment in technology and working practices placing the global economy on a more prosperous and sustainable footing.

Overall, the researchers estimate that, in today’s prices, the green transition could be worth $10.3trn to the global economy by 2050, equivalent to 5.2% of global GDP.

Commenting on the findings, IEMA’s Deputy CEO, Martin Baxter, said: “This report demonstrates the huge financial benefit that green industries can offer the global economy, and underlines the crucial need for governments and organisations to invest in green skills and training.

“Every job must be greener if we are to tackle the climate and environmental emergency. Our recently launched Green Careers Hub will help anyone – from any sector or background – understand how they can play a role in the wider green economy.”

The report also includes three tools to help economic policy decision-makers identify the right green economic opportunities, and maps out the steps required to capture them.

These tools include:

• A new taxonomy for green economic activities

• A framework to identify which opportunities work best for which economies

• A policy action tool for policymakers in different contexts

Adrian Cooper, CEO of Oxford Economics, said: “This study provides an original perspective on the commercial prize on offer for those enterprises and industries that move fastest and most capably to meet the demands of a greener economy.

“Our hope is that, as the world and its political and business leaders look towards another year of progress in advance of next year’s COP Summit, this analysis will provide a constructive contribution to their understanding.”

Image credit: Unsplash

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Taking the lead

To make real change on sustainability, it’s time to redefine leadership models, writes Chris Seekings

1st February 2024

Read more

Caris Graham (she/her) is Diverse Sustainability Initiative officer at IEMA

1st February 2024

Read more

Lisa Pool reflects on the highlights of the past year and what they mean for the future

1st February 2024

Read more

The percentage of women working in the built environment sector rose significantly last year although people from ethnic minorities find it up to six times harder to be recruited, according to a major survey.

17th January 2024

Read more

IEMA’s CEO and deputy CEO, Sarah Mukherjee MBE and Martin Baxter, respectively, called for greater support for green skills at several events today on Youth, Children, Education and Skills Day at COP28.

8th December 2023

Read more

A look at the latest edition of Stephen Asbury’s IEMA-endorsed book, Health and Safety, Environment and Quality Audits, and the CPD opportunities it presents

28th November 2023

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close