Increased labor force required to meet GHG targets: demand forecast
CALGARY, Sept. 24, 2013 /CNW/ - If Canada is to achieve its greenhouse gas mitigation targets by 2050, a significant increase in trained professionals will be required, says a report released this week by Carbon Management Canada (CMC), a national network working with industry to develop commercially feasible ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The labor demand forecast, commissioned by CMC and conducted by Navius Research Inc., suggests that if Canada wants to stay on track toward achieving its long term emissions reduction target of 60-70% from 2006 levels by 2050, as many as 27,000 additional university, college or technical institute graduates could be needed by 2030. If Canada aims to achieve just half of this level of abatement, additional skilled labor demand could be as high as 12,000 full-time positions by 2030.
"We'll need engineers, geologists, geoscientists, technicians and technologists," says Richard Adamson, CMC managing director. "That would be a big challenge under the best of circumstances, but the bigger challenge is that many of the skill sets required to achieve that are the same skill sets that the energy industry is already short of under its present business as usual projections."
The report focused on labor requirements associated with investments in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which has been identified as a critical part of Canada's GHG abatement strategy, and to a lesser extent on cogeneration in the oil sands.
A big concern is that any skills shortage could slow growth in the electricity production and fossil energy industries. Jacqueline Sharp, managing partner of Navius Research, says "Our research shows that emissions reduction efforts will drive significant investment by industry, and the availability of skilled labor could become a limiting factor."
CMC is holding a free webinar on Oct. 8, 2014 at 1 p.m. MT. Jacqueline Sharp, Navius managing partner, and Noel Melton, partner, will present the demand forecast in more detail. To register for the webinar:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3329694296504878593
To read a summary of the report: http://www.cmc-nce.ca/?p=5002
About Carbon Management Canada - http://www.cmcghg.com
About Navius Research - www.naviusresearch.com
SOURCE: Carbon Management Canada Inc.
Ruth Klinkhammer
Carbon Management Canada
403 210 7879
[email protected]
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