Low-carbon energy sources such as wind and sea wave power would create millions of sustainable new jobs in the United States alone, according to a report released by the Copenhagen Climate Council on Monday.

The report, Green Jobs and Clean Energy Economy, authored by Daniel Kammen and Ditlev Engel, shows that appropriate policy framework and large-scale strategic investment in clean energy technologies will both spur greater employment and pay dividends for the planet.

"This report dramatically illustrates the growth and real employment power of green energy jobs not just in the future, but today. Who would not want to replace foreign debt for energy for investing in a trained and innovative workforce?" Kammen said.

The report concludes that a combination of policy scenarios which involve renewable energy investment and energy efficiency measures can generate two to eight times more jobs per unit of energy than the fossil fuel-based sector.

In the United States alone, a national Renewable Portfolio Standard of 25 percent in 2025 coupled with a 0.5 percent annual electricity growth rate would generate more than 2 million jobs, and further increasing low-carbon sources by around 50 percent would generate more than 3 million jobs.

This would result in a massive 90 percent of US electricity supply coming from renew-able or low-carbon sources, says the report.

The report focused on a case study of Vestas, the Danish wind power giant.

Ditlev Engel, CEO of Vestas, explains: "This report shows once again that the wind energy industry provides jobs on a massive scale and engenders economic development. The recipe for growth and sustainability is very simple: long-term commitments for greenhouse gas emission reductions plus investment in power generation infrastructure."

"This will drive the market on a sustainable business platform; at Vestas we call that simply Modern Energy," he adds.

In 2005, Vestas employed 10,000 people worldwide. Today, the number has risen to nearly 20,000 in 62 countries.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2009)