New modelling has claimed 1000 jobs could be created in the ACT that would help absorb some COVID-19 job losses while tackling climate change, the Climate Council has said.
Of the 1000 jobs, up to 300 could be created in research and development, up to 200 jobs in making public buildings more energy efficient and up to 200 jobs in collecting organic waste, economic advisory firm AlphaBeta found.
"In the ACT, many of the potential jobs are in funding clean technology research and development," AlphaBeta director Andrew Charlton said.
"The ACT government can do this by supporting businesses, universities and other research centres to work on climate-related challenges."
The research, commissioned by the Climate Council, found about 76,000 jobs could be created across Australia.
"COVID-19 is a crisis, it's clearly a crisis... however, the climate crisis is a way bigger crisis on a global basis and will have deeper and much more long lasting effects," Climate Councillor Greg Bourne said.
"Here is the opportunity to rebuild economies and get people back to work, which we need to do anyway but helping it fix the future rather than just replicate the past."
In the ACT, there was an opportunity for jobs targeted at retrofitting public buildings, Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said.
"There are also hundreds of jobs that could be created in the ACT retrofitting public buildings with energy efficiency technologies - such as upgrading ventilation systems to be demand responsive," she said.
"Jobs could be created for electricians, administrative workers and builders."
Mr Bourne said an example of a retrofit that could generate jobs included replacing old and faulty ventilation systems in buildings.
"If we spend some of our money on energy audits you can then begin to spot what needs to be done... having audited it you can begin to work out to put the money where you need to put the jobs," he said.
"One of the departments would be a classic case because then the government can do it under their auspices, either the ACT government or the federal government."
Screwdriver ready projects that do not need to go through long planning assessments were essential, according to Smart Energy Council chief executive John Grimes.
"We already offset 100 per cent of our electricity in the ACT with renewable energy so the opportunity to build big solar farms or wind farms in a sense that work has already happened in Canberra," he said.
"What we're looking for is screwdriver ready projects, projects that can get Canberrans to work all across the territory immediately."
