Climate change is often seen as the biggest threat to humanity’s survival, causing more deaths and illnesses from frequent extreme weather while disrupting food and water availability. But it also drives economic growth by creating more green jobs!
What comes to mind when you mention green jobs? Most people tend to think about jobs aimed at directly conserving natural resources, including conservationists, ecologists, foresters, and zoologists.
But green careers go far beyond that!
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), green employment covers a broader definition of decent jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment, be they in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction, or in new, emerging green sectors such as renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Having said that, you can opt for a wider range of roles including solar panel technicians, green construction managers, compliance managers, agricultural specialists, sustainability managers in businesses, and many more.
Although green jobs are on the rise, they are not here to replace traditional occupations as artificial intelligence is supposed to be capable of.
On the contrary, green jobs exist to create more sustainable, eco-friendly solutions for businesses, maximising energy efficiency and eliminating waste in various sectors!
In other words, green transition will not make jobs disappear, but it will lead to reallocation, upskilling and reskilling in expanding sectors. Moreover, skills gaps will open up new income-generation opportunities for many people, especially the low-skilled.
Growing market
New data from the ILO reveals that the green transition might generate 24 million jobs globally by 2030, whereas the World Economic Forum found that demand for green skills is more prevalent in the healthcare, agricultural, construction, transportation, and manufacturing industries.
Certain industries like renewable energy are also expanding more rapidly. In addition, professional networking platform LinkedIn has pointed out in its 2023 Global Green Skills Report that only one in eight workers possess green skills, based on a survey done on more than 930 million of its users worldwide.
It is also notable that the share of job postings requiring at least one green skill grew nearly twice as quickly, by 22.4 percent between 2022 and 2023.
On the other hand, poorer populations who are more exposed to climate-related impact, may seek alternative employment in green tourism, sustainable agriculture and products.
Simultaneously, vulnerable groups, who are at risk of unemployment as a result of the transition, such as youth, older workers, indigenous people, people with disabilities and migrant workers, can be included in apprenticeship and skills training for sectors with green growth potential.
But still, the scale of skills shortfall cannot be addressed through formal education outside of the workplace alone. Such needs can be met through government commitment to green training, reskilling, and upskilling in their national climate plans and policies.
Meanwhile, businesses can help bridge the gap by communicating the skills they need to meet their climate goals and putting in place reskilling programmes, as well as on-the-job training!
Embrace the change
So does this mean you cannot get a green job without the right education and skills?
No, not really!
I myself have no formal education in carbon management, sustainability or climate change. In fact, I picked up most of my skills at work while securing a few sustainability certificates upon completing courses and passing relevant exams!
I also know of people who are switching career paths to keep up with the changing needs of the labour market. There are corporate lawyers turned sustainability consultants, accountants turned Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) trainers, you name it!
Like it or not, change is inevitable in life, always take any changes that threaten your career as a chance to learn new skills, so you can stay ahead of the competition and make yourself more marketable by planning ahead!
This is a positive shift. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand climate change, but you need more than a passion to know what to do with climate change!
The future of jobs is green, and it is up to us to think how to seize them! You can be a green warrior too, if you set your mind to it!
Compiled herewith a list of 15 useful free platforms as part of the United Nations’ learning network:
1) UN Climate Change E-Learn Platform
2) UNEP E-Learning
3) UNDP Climate Change Learning
4) UNESCO Water E-Learning
5) UNITAR Online Courses
6) FAO E-Learning
7) UNITAR Multilateral Diplomacy Program
8) UNCC Online Climate Classroom
9) UNFCCC Capacity-Building Portal
10) UNSSC Sustainable Development Cluster
11) UNITAR Disaster Risk Reduction
12) UNEP FI (Finance Initiative) Learning Platform
13) UNFPA Environmental Sustainability Training
14) UN-Water Learning Centre
15) UNEP Green Economy Learning Platform
- Mkini
CHONG YEN MEE is a climate change analyst by training and enjoys writing doomsday stories that make people act.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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