Employment in activities related to the environment in Spain already represents 2.62% of the employed population with a total of 530,947 jobs. This is one of the data from the report Green Employment in a Sustainable Economy prepared by the Observatory of Sustainability in Spain (OSE) and the Biodiversity Foundation.

The preparation of the report responds to an initiative of the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs and co-financed by the European Social Fund, which aims to better understand the possibilities of job creation linked to environmental activities.

At the presentation of the report, the Secretary of State for Climate Change, Teresa Ribera, stressed that we have to live within the limits of the planet and for this we will need to ensure that 100% of jobs are green because the economy and well-being require efficient and respectful use and our responsibility is to promote this progressive change. He added that today is a way to promote recovery and job creation, soon it will be the usual way in which employment is developed.

The increase in so-called green employment in Spain in the last decade has been 235%. Excluding the items that are not considered green employment in this study on an estimate of 1998, the change experienced between that year and the present is very considerable, going from about 158,500 jobs in 1998 to almost 531,000 in 2009, more than tripled.
The report uncovers optimistic data after analysing the new opportunities emerging to face the challenges of global change, where the climate crisis occupies a prominent place.

Main sectors
20.6% of the total number of current green jobs is concentrated in the renewable energy sector, in which 109,368 jobs are employed, a figure that is only surpassed by the sector dedicated to waste management and treatment, with 140,343 jobs. The renewable energy sector has grown the most, with the number of jobs multiplying by 30 in a decade.

Organic agriculture and livestock farming represent 9.48% of all green jobs in Spain, but they are in full expansion. In fact, renewable energies and organic farming have great potential for the generation or conversion of jobs.

The report highlights the first results that are already being achieved to consolidate the transition to a sustainable future. Green employment figures will increase in the coming years with the regulatory framework that pushes towards a new, more sustainable economic model, according to the report, highlighting the new sources of employment in emerging sectors.