In the coming years economy and society will be affected to a considerable extent by the impacts of climate change. From an economic perspective, this will change the demand for goods and services considerably, particularly in the areas of technical infrastructure and the construction industry. Additional demand for adaptation goods will lead to new opportunities for the economy and employment in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Against this background, the Wuppertal Institute and RUFIS were commissioned by the NRW Climate Protection Ministry to estimate the market potential of adaptation technologies and the related employment effects for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in selected technology fields. Based on literature analysis and desk research, the following technology fields were selected after consultation with the client:
- Membrane technologies in the water industry
- Roof and facade greening
- Heat pumps for cooling and air conditioning
- Solar cooling
- Heat-resistant road surfaces
These technology fields have in common that adaptation to climate change can be expected to serve as an additional pulse for the respective technology field. A sufficient number of providers and activities per technology field is based in Northrhine-Westphalia, Therefore, additional market potential and related additional employment exists and can be tapped.
These potential effects on production output and employment are calculated by RUFIS. The general methodological basis is a static, open and regionalised input-output analysis. In the individual chapters on the respective technology fields the analysis is complemented by indicator values determined from eixisting studies, market assessments, industry reports and own extrapolations.
The results of the project will be published in form of a final report.