More policy support urged for clean energy among G20 countries
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Wind turbine giant Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel on Wednesday called for more actions and policy support for clean energy among G20 countries so as to tackle the climate change and create green jobs on the eve of G20 Seoul Summit.
"The world needs green jobs.... In the framework of globalization, the first priority is employment, the second priority is employment, and the third priority is employment," Engel told a press conference on the sidelines of the two-day G20 Seoul Business Summit.
"Creating green jobs on a massive scale is a two-way street. Give us the policy frameworks, and we will give you the results. We will make the investment, we will take the risks, and we will create the jobs," he said.
The Business Summit started on Wednesday, two days before beginning of the G20 Seoul Summit, which would gather leaders of world's major countries, including the U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain, Brazil and Germany.
Engel, also convener of Green Jobs Working Group comprising 9 multinationals, said the Working Group has developed a report including concrete and ready-to-go economy-wide recommendations for creating jobs for G20 countries.
The working group called on G20 countries to commit to four actions -- setting a robust price on carbon, scaling up research and development, eliminating fossil fuel subsidies as quickly as possible, and allowing free trade in environmental goods and services.
Engel said a majority of people around the world deemed the climate change a serious issue and many customers were willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly products.
Globally, some 557 billion U.S. dollars was spent annually on fossil fuel subsidies, which the G20 leaders had already committed to phasing out over the medium term.
"We urge G20 leaders to end all such subsidies within the shortest possible time frame, and not more than five years," Engel said in a statement.
Vestas is the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer headquartered in Denmark, with a total global market share of 12.5 percent by the end of last year. More than the 40,000 Vestas wind turbines had been installed in 64 countries and regions, with a combined capacity of 5,581 MW, the company said on its website.
Vestas employed more than 20,000 people around the world. Its revenue stood at 6.6 billion euros in 2009.
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