The Scottish Government has been working with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the search for an agreed definition of what exactly a “green job” is.
Employment Minister Richard Lochhead stressed the importance of having an up-to-date definition of the term as he answered questions in Holyrood.
There is currently no single definition of a green job, with different agencies using different parameters.
A year ago, Scottish Green MSP and minister Lorna Slater said the Scottish Government wanted to establish a wider definition of a green job which went beyond the ONS estimates of people working in the low-carbon and renewable energy sector.
Her fellow Green MSP Maggie Chapman raised the issue again in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
Lochhead, who is also the Minister for a Just Transition, said: “There are several different definitions of green jobs at the moment, not just in this country but throughout the UK and Europe and the rest of the world.
“At UK level, the Scottish Government has been engaging with the Office for National Statistics, who are currently reviewing their definition, because the current definition is out of date.
“With the efforts towards net zero and all the new jobs being created, it’s really important we have an up-to-date definition of green jobs.”
Conservative MSP Liam Kerr attacked the government’s record on transitioning North Sea jobs to renewables, saying thousands of posts could be lost in the coming years.
He said: “Rather than gaming definitions to appease the Green coalition partners, does the minister agree that this Government’s time would be much better spent revising his threadbare energy strategy?”
Lochhead said companies in the sector saw “massive job opportunities” in renewables.
The ONS recently held a consultation around measuring green jobs, which received 107 responses from government bodies, academics, businesses and charities.
The statistics agency says it is using these responses to inform work on a definition of a green job, which will be published by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
This will be followed by experimental statistics later in the year and regular publications in the longer term.
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