A broad coalition of businesses and not-for-profit organisations – including RSPB, SUEZ, The Wildlife Trusts and the British Chambers of Commerce – have mobilised to back IEMA's #GreenSkillsAtCOP campaign urging global leaders to prioritise the development of green skills at the upcoming COP16 Biodiversity Summit and COP29 Climate Summit.
Climate change and the global loss of biodiversity are two global crises that are intrinsically linked and need to be tackled together.
The campaign underscores that there is a critical gap in the global response to these environmental challenges and without investment in the right education, skills, and training, many countries will fall short in their efforts to reverse the loss of biodiversity and achieve carbon emissions targets.
Each year, IEMA publishes a briefing note on the Conference of the Parties – IEMA’s Senior Policy and Engagement Lead for Climate Change and Energy Chloë Fiddy looks at the key topics on the agenda and the outcomes that IEMA would like to see from COP29.
IEMA CEO Sarah Mukherjee MBE reflects on key highlights and lowlights from the United Nations biodiversity talks, COP16 in Cali, Columbia.
"Two weeks of negotiations, hundreds of thousands of air miles flown, Ministers and heads of state attending, and yet, in the end, the United Nations biodiversity talks, COP16, in Cali in Columbia ended up as slightly less than the sum of its parts."
This COP16 Explainer set out what to expect at this year's Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia. We also detail the key outcomes from the previous COP15 conference in Montreal and what IEMA would like to see emerge from the COP16 negotiations.
The guide also explains the key targets amongst the 23 that were agreed by countries at the last COP summit, including the need to strengthen capacity building, which is the focus of IEMA's #GreenSkillsAtCOP campaign.
Climate change and the global loss of biodiversity are two global crises that are intrinsically linked and need to be tackled together.
Starting in September 2024, IEMA and partners Content with Purpose (CWP) launched the #GreenSkillsAtCOP campaign to advocate for negotiations at COP16 and COP29 to recognise the crucial role that green skills play in tackling the global climate change and biodiversity crises.
We are asking organisations, IEMA members and the wider community to sign up and support the campaign.
We will be writing to and in some cases meeting with the relevant UK Ministers and COP presidents in advance of both negotiations urging them to support and champion our campaign.
Specifically, we would like to see agreements reached at both negotiations that mandate countries to develop and invest in appropriate workforce strategies to ensure the successful delivery of their biodiversity and climate change plans.
Green skills refer to the technical knowledge, behaviours, and capabilities required to tackle environmental challenges and promote sustainability across all sectors.
Building wind farms, manufacturing electric vehicles and restoring habitats are just some of the job sectors that are crucial for tackling climate change and the loss of biodiversity. And that means making sure we have the skilled people able to fill those job roles.
But climate and environmental targets are an economy-wide challenge. Many organisations will need every team member of their workforce to have some level of green skills – much like the way digital skills spread across businesses over previous decades. Our ambition should be to make “all jobs greener” – by weaving green competencies throughout the global workforce.
This includes procurement teams leading sustainable practices, HR departments fostering environmentally conscious workplaces, and even hairdressers or landscape architects integrating sustainability into their work.
To make this transition inclusive, it’s essential that green skills and jobs are accessible to all, promoting diversity and equal opportunities within the workforce. By prioritising green education, skills, and jobs, we not only protect the environment but also create a more equitable and prosperous future for everyone.
Climate change and the global loss of biodiversity are two global crises that are intrinsically linked and need to be tackled together.
Later this year at COP16 Biodiversity Summit in Colombia and the COP29 Climate Summit in Azerbaijan, countries are required to develop or update their National Action Plans.
These plans sets out how countries will deliver positive outcomes for nature and tackle climate change; including setting targets, putting place policies and measures, securing and allocating investment.
We are advocating that a vital aspect in delivering these action plans is investing in and developing green education, skills and training. Without green skills imbedded within each countries workforce to deliver those actions plans, we will never achieve global biodiversity and climate targets.
The United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Cali, Colombia from 21 October to 1 November 2024.
The monitoring framework agreed at the previous conference should allow the progress of countries towards national goals and targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to be evaluated.
At COP16 countries are submitting revised National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) this year.
IEMA CEO, Sarah Mukherjee, and IEMA Policy & Engagement Lead for Biodiversity & Natural Capital, Lesley Wilson, will be attending COP16 as observers.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11–24 November 2024.
Nationally Determined Contributions are climate action plans being delivered to cut carbon emissions and adapt to climate impacts. Each country signed up to the Paris Agreement is required to establish an NDC and update it every five years.
At COP29, countries will be working towards the submission of revised plans for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at COP30 in Brazil next year.
IEMA Deputy CEO, Martin Baxter will be attending COP29 as an observer.
