On climate action, Europe must learn from our digital mistakes

The author contends that Europe must view climate action as an economic opportunity rather than a threat to jobs, drawing a parallel to the region's failure to lead the digital economy. Citing EIB data, the text highlights that renewable energy jobs in the EU have more than doubled since 2000. The European Investment Bank (EIB) aims to mitigate risk for private investors through a $100 billion commitment to climate action through 2020, supported by a robust EU policy framework that passed 29 climate-friendly laws in the previous year.

• Europeans exhibit less optimism than Americans regarding the positive impact of climate action on economic growth and employment, with only 21% of Europeans believing it will have a positive or very positive effect.
• Employment in the renewable energy sector has grown significantly faster than overall job growth; worldwide, renewable jobs grew 45% since 2012 compared to a 5% general increase, while in the EU, renewable energy jobs have more than doubled since 2000 against a 7% overall increase.
• The transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy is estimated to have a potential value of €23 trillion by 2030.
• The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed $100 billion to climate action for the five-year period ending in 2020 to mitigate risks for private investors and crowd-in private finance.
• The EU's policy environment is more active in passing climate-friendly legislation than other major economies, passing 29 such laws last year, compared to eight in the US and four in China.

APA

Hoyer, W. (2019). On climate action, Europe must learn from our digital mistakes. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/on-climate-action-europe-must-learn-from-our-digital-mistakes/

Chicago

Hoyer, Werner. On climate action, Europe must learn from our digital mistakes. World Economic Forum, 2019. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/on-climate-action-europe-must-learn-from-our-digital-mistakes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hoyer |first1=Werner |title=On climate action, Europe must learn from our digital mistakes |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=15 January 2019 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/on-climate-action-europe-must-learn-from-our-digital-mistakes/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hoyer2019climate, author = {Hoyer, Werner}, title = {{On climate action, Europe must learn from our digital mistakes}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/on-climate-action-europe-must-learn-from-our-digital-mistakes/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }