The Global Initiative on Jobs and Skills for the New Economy aims to accelerate investment in human capital, foster social inclusion, and align workforce development with national climate and economic strategies.
It comes after new research from the World Resources Institute (WRI) revealed that the green transition could create an estimated 375 million new jobs over the next decade, particularly in renewable energy, construction and nature-based solutions.
Adaptation activities, such as building resilient infrastructure, are expected to be a major source of employment as well, generating an estimated 280 million jobs worldwide, according to the research.
Specifically, the new coalition is calling on governments to embed jobs and skills strategies in national climate and industrial plans, backed by data-driven workforce intelligence and local transition pacts.
It is also calling for modern, modular training systems and industry-led consortiums to align skills with emerging green sectors, and for new domestic revenues, business incentives, and international finance to drive long-term workforce development.
“Here in Belém, we must show that climate action is not only about emissions and technologies, but about people and their future,” said COP30 CEO Ana Toni. “Let us come together in the spirit of mutirão – the collective energy of communities working together – to build a fairer and more prosperous future for all.”
The new coalition’s aims echo those of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), which has long called for a greater focus on jobs at COP conferences through its #GreenSkillsAtCOP campaign.
Indeed, a new ISEP report has revealed an imbalance in education and skills development in many nationally determined contributions (NDCs), that could exacerbate inequalities between rich and poor countries.
Although less than 40% of countries have submitted NDCs, the analysis shows that nations particularly vulnerable to climate impacts are focusing on skills that enable their citizens to survive, while wealthier countries are focusing on building capacity for their citizens to thrive.
This is despite developed countries having supply chains that rely on resources located in developing and emerging economies. The report recommends:
· NDCs should explicitly and consistently set out measures to increase capacity building and embed education and skills as measurable pillars of climate policy – accompanied by targets, funding pathways, and accountability mechanisms linked to national education strategies.
· Wealthier countries take an important leadership role with a more global outlook to skills development on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
ISEP's senior policy and engagement lead for climate change and energy, Chloë Fiddy, said: “This shift to a sustainable economy is creating green jobs within new and emerging sectors, while those working in existing sectors can gain the requisite green skills to take advantage of, and sustain, economic growth potential.
“To make sure that everyone can take advantage of these opportunities, it is important that future NDCs more explicitly, and consistently, draw out the skills and educational development that each country is delivering to support their decarbonisation journey to enable a global exchange of support and best practice.”
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Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of ISEP’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for ISEP members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
