JOBS IN GREEN TRANSITION NORDIC CLEAN ENERGY WEEK CONCLUSIONS FROM THE WORKSHOP The Nordic countries are among the best in the world when it comes to national energy systems and innovative approaches to the green transition. In 2017, 43% of electricity consumption in Denmark came from renewable energy. Sweden is a world leader in ethanol research and biomass production, 90% of bioenergy coming from the forestry sector. Norway leads the way for electric cars, having one of the highest numbers of electric cars per capita in the world. Thanks to geothermal sources, 85% of primary energy supply in Iceland derives from domestically produced renewable energy sources. And, Finland has recently announced its ambition in becoming the world leader in circular economy by 2030. On the occasion of the Nordic Clean energy week, the Association of Nordic Engineers, ANE, gathered together an expert panel to explore the impact of the green transition on the role of engineers and employment trends. The transition to a green circular economy is clearly already underway and requires a mix of policies, long-term provisions and investments. “The green transition is not a quick fix, it requires a mix of policies, long-term provisions and investments” “People in finance were not the first ones on barricades fighting for the green shift, but this is changing. Investments in green energy have grown sharply the last decade but are still not enough to fulfil the Paris agreement,” stated Thina Saltvedt, Senior Analyst at Nordea Markets. This is partly due to growing concern among investors about climate change and inadequate disclosure from companies, and challenging task for financial sector of putting a price on climate risk. Alongside the financial aspects, policy-makers need to be better informed about energy resources so that they can put long-term solutions in place to enable decreases in demand for fossil fuels. “Our transport sector is predominantly dependent on fossil fuels. As soon as there are political solutions for phasing-out fossil-fuel subsidies and there is a competition, industries will follow and adapt. The technology is already there,” outlined Brian vad Mathiesen, Professor Energy Planning at Aalborg University.
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