In Part II of a two-part series, Warwick Peel and Brendon Booth, co-founders of pb Human Capital, examine the type of jobs that the renewable energy and carbon sectors are creating.

If you haven’t read Part I, click here.

The growth of the renewable energy and clean technology investments arena, and the emergence of a new carbon asset class, provide new job platforms on which to embrace a sustainable future career plan.

And in the meantime, consultants, quantitative analysts, investment bankers, portfolio managers, investment strategists, and energy and carbon traders should improve their skills and product knowledge while the renewable employment market unfolds.

Although there is some correlation between carbon markets and renewable energy, there is a distinct difference between the two. Renewable energy is the creation and operation of renewable generation capacity (such as wind, solar, biomass etc), whereas carbon really is just trading and compliance of an obligation created from energy operations.

The asset class carbon and the associated Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) will create the liability and market for trading carbon independent of what happens in the renewable energy space.

The job vacancies provided by carbon (trading, consulting, risk management, strategy, software, exchanges etc) are therefore somewhat different to those presented by the renewable industry (clean technology companies, equipment manufacturing, R&D, development opportunities, specialist financing, construction etc).

The evolution of the carbon sector will create the most job opportunists within the new green employment market. It is estimated that a majority of organisations - up to 50 per cent of ASX200 listed and privately held companies - are not even aware of their carbon emissions. This presents a significant challenge for these companies to have systems and, more importantly, people, in place to address these issues.

The proposed European Union Emission Trading System (ETS) will create overwhelming financial and commercial implications for companies. And opportunities to proactively invest in Carbon Emission Reduction Units (CERs) and CDM (Clean Development Mechanisms) could present valuable investment opportunities.

Organisations who invest today will reap the financial rewards tomorrow. So press the green button early and invest the time in systems and people now to avoid confronting financial disarray once the carbon markets are active under the ETS.

Carbon markets activity will increase after December’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, so now is an opportune time for organisations to proactively formulate strategies (and create jobs) for the future impact of carbon on their business.