Its Global Climate Talent Stocktake 2024 report suggests that the green talent pool must double by 2050 “at a bare minimum” to keep pace with projected demand, with roughly half of green jobs set to lack qualified candidates on current trends.
Demand for green talent grew by 11.6% between 2023 and 2024, which was twice as quick as supply on 5.6%, with job seekers with green skills or titles seeing a 54.6% higher hiring rate than the workforce overall.
To keep pace with demand, the report states that "climate commitments have to include investments in the workforce", and calls on world leaders to "declare workers as enablers of climate ambition at COP29".
“We simply can’t get there without a global workforce empowered with the skills to get it done,” it continues. “An official COP declaration could help galvanise the cross-sector solutions necessary.”
This comes after IEMA launched its #GreenSkillsAtCOP campaign earlier this month urging global leaders at the upcoming COP summits to prioritise the development of green skills to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises.
Specifically, the campaign calls on countries to develop and update national action plans with clear targets, robust policies, and significant investment in workforce strategies, and advocates for a just transition.
IEMA CEO Sarah Mukherjee MBE said: "At the upcoming COP16 biodiversity summit in Colombia and the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, countries are going to be asked to develop or update their national action plans.
"A commitment to green skills has so far been conspicuous by its absence.
“We are advocating that a vital aspect in delivering these action plans is investing in and developing the right education, skills and training to ensure every country's workforce can deliver on their biodiversity and climate targets.”
LinkedIn’s Global Climate Talent Stocktake 2024 reveals that demand for green talent is greatest in the UK, where 13% of roles require at least one green skill, followed by Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Norway, and Switzerland, on 12.4%, 11.7%, 11.6% and 11.5%, respectively.
It states that the next submission of nationally determined contributions can be the “hinge point” where countries lay out bold plans to build a climate workforce that can deliver whole-of-economy transformation.
This would “send a critical signal” to all levels of government, investors, educators, and the private sector that green skills development paves the way for climate action.
"This year is an inflection point for our planet — and for workers — as countries and companies write new climate commitments; they must include explicit investments in the green workforce,” said Sue Duke, VP of public policy and Economic Graph at LinkedIn.
“Every climate goal around the world, every commitment made, is at risk if we don’t have a workforce that can deliver the change we urgently need. The economic opportunity is there and a promising skills-based pathway exists."
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Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of IEMA’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for IEMA 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.