A four-step plan to closing the global green skills gap

This is a pivotal moment for transition planning – for countries and for businesses. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to deliver new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years, with updated NDCs due for submission in 2025. At the same time, businesses are under pressure to ramp up their transition plans to meet the commitments they have set themselves.

The urgency of the situation is further underlined by what we see and feel every day, from extreme storms and wildfires to extreme heat. Last year was the warmest year since records began in 1850 and the threshold of 1.5℃ is likely to be crossed temporarily in the next five years. We all must act with the urgency required to reverse our current trajectory.

Certain skills are required to confront these challenges. Having these skills where and when they are needed at scale is critical. Looking at this another way, however, could create an opportunity.

The LinkedIn Global Green Skills Report 2023 highlights the scale of the green skills shortage. Between 2022 and 2023, the share of green talent in the workforce rose by a median of 12.3% across the 48 countries studied for the research. In contrast, the share of job postings requiring at least one green skill grew nearly twice as quickly – by a median of 22.4%.

To say that green skills are in short supply is an understatement; what we are experiencing would be more aptly described as a green skills crisis. This crisis is the result of insufficient policies and programmes to support green skills development, along with a lack of investment in education and training. It is exacerbated by the current difficult economic climate, which is leading governments and business leaders to focus on short-term priorities at the expense of long-term challenges. Additionally, there is a social backlash against the green agenda in certain markets.

Other blockers to the development of green skills are the fierce war for talent and general skills shortages that exist in many countries. Meanwhile, the rapid rate of change means that companies’ green skills requirements are often evolving more quickly than education providers can respond.

Unfortunately, the crisis isn’t going to go away on its own. Governments and businesses will need to confront it head-on – and in partnership – if they are to have any hope of achieving their transition plans. It’s an issue at the heart of discussions and insights at the World Economic Forum’s Equitable Transition Initiative, which aims to ensure that policies, business strategies and investments for net zero solve for both emissions and socioeconomic inequities. We can’t look at skills separate from economic development and social equity.

For many countries, skills development in the net zero transition needs to accommodate demographic factors, such as ageing populations. Additionally, countries must ensure that existing social inequities are not worsened by green initiatives, particularly for workers in carbon-intensive industries who may be left behind as organizations transition to new approaches, products, manufacturing processes, technologies and locations.

So, how can governments and businesses unleash the power of human talent to expedite a transition that is not only green, but also equitable and just? In my view, these four strategies are vital in combination with the upcoming Nationally Determined Contributions plan updates required in 2025:

Sadly, none of the strategies I’ve outlined above are quick fixes. They will take time to implement and they won’t end the green skills crisis overnight. But the longer we hold off from implementing them, the harder and slower our transition will be, which could have potentially devastating consequences for our world.

We need to take radical action today – working together across businesses, policymakers and education providers – to transform our sectors and the related education and qualification pathways. To transition to a new economy in which business, people and our planet all thrive, we must simultaneously plan for the orderly transition of roles and skills.