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Posted in July 2020

CFE/LEED(2010)430and private sector actorsin the Brussels Capital Region12. The region has putin place training programmes to increase the supply of trained labour in the eco-construction industry. This will allow for a reduction inthe predicted skills and labour gaps in the sector, and opens up opportunities for the unemployed.76.The second dimension of managing transition is the broader scale actions taken to restructure local economies around environmental activities and sustainable practices. As mentioned before, transition assistance will be of particular importancefor regions with high concentrations of high emission-producing industries as well as for regions facing the difficulties brought about by the decline of traditional industries. The case of the co-ordinated action taken by Portuguese authorities to develop the renewable energies sector in the former shipyard region of Viana do Castelo illustrates an example of the types of actions governments can putin place in this regard (see Box4). Another example of transition assistance in this sense is the environmental urban development project set upby the Tangshan municipality in China. Thisproject aims to rebuild and reorganise the region‘s industries and housing infrastructure based on the principle of the circular economy.1312See learning model in Appendix II for additional information. 13See definition in the Glossary.
CFE/LEED(2010)431Box 4. The case of "Eolicas de Portugal"(ENEOP) In 2005, the Portuguese national authorities launched a bidaimed at awarding the electric power grid connection rights to new wind farms,with the intention of developing the wind energy sector in the country. One of the main criteria used to select the winning project wasto use wind energy to leverage the sector through investment and employment in one of the country’s underprivileged locations undergoing economic restructuration. Eolicas de Portugal (ENEOP), a joint venture founded by five Portuguese and foreign firms, won the first and largest phase of the bid, obtaining the rights to set up facilities to produce 1200 megawatts by 2013. Since then, ENEOP has created a state-of-the-art industrial cluster comprised of 7 new plants and R&D and trainingcentresto produce wind turbines. These facilities were all built in the Viana do Castelo region of northern Portugal, a region with a strong industrial tradition whose economic activity strongly suffered from the restructuration taking place during the 1980’s. The wider cluster also includes 29 associated companies responsible for the supply of goods and services for the manufacture and installation of wind farms. Since the project was initiated, 109per cent14of the investment at the core industrial facilities has been undertaken and the project has created 561 direct and 845 indirect jobs. This represents about 82 per cent completion of the initial objectives of theprogramme. Out of the total job creation,specialised labourrepresents 78per cent, and technicallabouraccounts for 8 per cent (the rest is undifferentiated). Knowledge Intensive Service Activities (KISA) issignificant in the wind industry, providing environmental consultancy and impact assessment but also technical services and power plant maintenance. Of interest is that only 9% of thelabourforce had the relevant qualifications for the job, their companieswill therefore have to provide the training. In fact, training courses were led by thoseprogrammessupported by government initiatives for renewable energy in Portugal.Asjob requirementsfor the future are within the "traditional trades",the skills of welders, plumbers and maintenance technicians will have to be adaptedto meetthe needs of renewable industry. The implementation of the project required close collaboration between all government levels, as well as increased efforts on behalf of local authorities and locallabourmarket actors to ensure the adequate supply of a trained workforce for the positions created. Below is a summary of the impact of the cluster.Summary of the main benefits to the local and national economyTotal InvestmentEUR220 mTotal Added ValueEUR286 m per yearJob Creations1700 direct, 5500 indirectBalance of PaymentsExports> 60% of the production (EUR200m per year from 2010)Avoided gas imports> EUR100 m per yearAvoided purchase of CO2 certificatesEUR24 m per year(1 MtCO2per year)Local DevelopmentLocal taxesEUR5 m per yearLand rentsEUR3.4 m per yearSource: Prata Dias & Ramos (2010)Enabling green growth77.Despite their limited capacities to adopt climate change regulation, local policy makers can create significant opportunities for the expansion of green activities, investments, and jobs; and the reduction of 14The investment wasmore than the original budget.

https://www.oecd.org/employment/leed/44683169.pdf

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