Developing a low-carbon economy depends on improving existing skills rather than specialised green skills. By developing a low-carbon economy for green, sustainable growth, governments can have the best of both worlds. They can meet climate change obligations and reduce unemployment. To take advantage of the economic opportunities provided by the low-carbon economy, the workforce needs the right skills.

But what are they? There is an emerging consensus that to have the fundamental skills critical to make the transition to a low-carbon economy, emphasis is needed on improving current skills rather than developing new curricula and training to provide new green skills.

Clear evidence of the link between developing a low-carbon economy and job creation is found in reactions to the economic crisis. Several Member States introduced economic stimulus packages in 2008-09 that included investment in energy efficiency and renewable-energy programmes. The European Economic Recovery Plan, launched in 2008, provided a fiscal stimulus of around EUR 200 billion to counter the economic downturn and focused investment on clean technologies and infrastructure.

This theme has been carried over into the European Union's new strategy for sustainable growth and jobs, Europe 2020, which puts innovation and green growth at the heart of its blueprint for competitiveness.

Cedefop's study "Skills for Green Jobs", part of a broader study carried out with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), shows that the boundaries between what is and is not low-carbon work are becoming increasingly blurred. The perception of whether a job is a new green one or an existing one with new elements differs among the six Member States.

For example, an energy auditor in Estonia may be considered a new green occupation. However, in Germany, it can be seen as a change in the competences of an auditor, which is a long-established occupation. Business Europe also argues that there is no clear definition of green jobs and that the distinction between green and more conventional sectors is artificial. Trying to distinguish between jobs and skills that are green and those that are not can be unhelpful.

Cedefop's study also argues that many of the skills needed for low-carbon jobs can be found in existing occupations. A balance of generic skills (for example autonomy and communication), generic green skills (such as reducing waste and improving energy and resource efficiency) and 'topping up' existing job-related skills is much more important to developing a low-carbon economy than more specialized, green skills.