Green upskilling must be priority at COP29 to reach climate goals

Sue Duke is VP Global Public Policy & Economic Graph at LinkedIn.

With COP29 underway in Baku, scepticism is emerging over how much progress the U.N. climate talks can really deliver in the drive to net zero.

However this is an essential moment to secure concrete commitments for meaningful action as countries get ready to submit the next phase of their national climate plans.

With new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - updated climate plans from all countries - due in early 2025, world leaders must prioritise action on reducing emissions and making the transition to net-zero economies.

These pledges will be pivotal in determining whether global climate targets are met or missed.

But one thing is certain and yet often overlooked – every single climate goal is at risk if we don’t have the right people in the right jobs to deliver them.

The scale of this challenge is stark: to meet projected demand, we need to double the size of the green talent pool by 2050.

Yet the green skills gap is already widening.

While demand for green talent grew by over 11% last year, supply only increased by 5.6%, according to LinkedIn’s latest data.

Without sustained investment in upskilling, that gap could balloon to 101.5% by 2050, leaving us dangerously underprepared to meet net-zero goals.

And by 2030, halfway between the submission of NDCs in 2025 and their deadlines in 2035, one in five green jobs could already lack candidates to fill them.

Women, Gen Z lose out

At present, only 1 in 8 professionals possess a green skill, creating a critical gap between available jobs and the talent required to fill them. This gap is even more pronounced for certain groups, such as women and Gen Z, who remain significantly underrepresented in the green workforce.

Women are half as likely as men to possess green skills, putting them at risk of missing out on the opportunities created by the green transition.

Traditional gender roles and stereotypes around environmental jobs - often perceived as technical or focused on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)  - have resulted in fewer women pursuing these roles, compounding their underrepresentation.

Gen Z faces different but equally challenging barriers.

Only 1 in 20 Gen Z workers currently have green skills, and by 2030, this is projected to rise to just 1 in 10.

Many young workers find themselves in entry-level positions where green upskilling opportunities are limited or less accessible.

With Gen Z expected to make up a third of the workforce by 2050, ensuring they have pathways into the green economy is essential.

These barriers make it harder for both women and Gen Z workers to gain the green skills increasingly required in today’s job market, risking an inequitable transition to a green economy.

Green growth

Demand from businesses is not the problem. Employers across sectors are eager to hire talent with green skills.

In the utilities sector, nearly a quarter of job postings now require green skills as the industry modernises the power grid.

In construction, responsible for 37% of global emissions, a fifth of roles now require green skills.

This demand shows businesses are mobilising to meet sustainability targets and the commitment of last year’s COP climate talks, where nearly 200 countries pledged to triple renewable deployment by 2030.

There is also a growing desire among workers to pursue green jobs, with increasing interest in roles that contribute to sustainability and environmental impact.

So the challenge is not demand or appetite, but instead a lack of awareness and training.

Many workers are unaware of green job opportunities or how to pursue them, while businesses struggle to identify the skills required and to create training to develop them.

Currently, 1 in 3 people don’t know what a green job is, and despite over 60% of workers being willing to upskill, many are not receiving the education or opportunities needed, according to polling by Strand Partners.

The challenges are many, but there is an actionable path forward. To achieve climate goals and ensure a fair economic transition, governments must address the widening gap in the supply and demand of green talent across all demographics.

This includes prioritising opportunities for underrepresented groups while also developing strategies to upskill workers and better measure the progress of these efforts.

By focusing on inclusivity and equity in green skills development, we can ensure that no group is left behind, and that the green economy grows in a way that benefits all workers.

COP29 must formally recognise workers as key to achieving climate targets. Governments should use their NDCs to strategically invest in upskilling, ensuring all demographics have the skills needed to drive the green transition.

Climate commitments must also prioritise investment in green education and upskilling to equip a diverse workforce for a sustainable future. Without this focus, the green transition risks losing momentum and our climate targets are at risk.

Without a diverse, skilled workforce, the path to net zero remains perilous. That’s why the next wave of climate commitments must prioritise investment in people.