The European Commission has been urged to redirect some of its €1tr budget into green sectors such as sustainable transport and energy efficient construction, after a new report found that doing so could boost the number of green jobs by 320 per cent.

Six green groups, including WWF, Friends of the Earth and the European Environmental Bureau, this afternoon launched a report comparing how many jobs would be created if some of the bloc's budget was redirected from flagship Cohesion and Common Agricultural Policies towards green initiatives.

It concluded that job creation per Euro would increase by 320 per cent if the Commission stepped up planned investments in four green sectors: sustainable transport, energy efficient construction, upstream supplies and renewable energy.

It found that an annual investment of €14.75bn in green sectors, representing just 14 per of the total 2014 and 2020 budget, could sustain more than half a million jobs.

In comparison, it found that the €140bn expected annual investment in the CAP and the Cohesion Policy, representing 78 per of the total 2014 and 2020 budget, would create or sustain just over a million jobs.

“To continue reading, click here”