Preparing the Workforce for the Low-Carbon Economy: A Closer Look at Green Jobs and Green Skills

NO.262 OCTOBER2023 KEYPOINTS •Greenjobscanbedefinedindifferentways.Thekeyforpublicpolicyistobeawareofnuancesandapplydefinitionswiththeusecaseinmind. •Technicalandmedium-skilledoccupationsareexpectedtobeinhighdemandinthegreeneconomy. •Greenjobsrequiremoretechnicalskillsthanotherjobs,andasustainabilitymindset. •Greenjobsarediverse,andparticularrolesrequirespecificskills. •Greenworkforceplanninganddevelopmentneeds toinclude(i)country-specificgreenlabormarketforecasts, (ii)sector-specificworkforceplanning,(iii)atailoredapproachtoupdatingqualifications,(iv)capacitytodelivertechnicaleducation,and(v)teachingsustainabilityasamindsetacrosseducationsubsectors. ADBBRIEFS PreparingtheWorkforcefor theLow-CarbonEconomy:ACloserLookatGreenJobsandGreenSkills AlexanderTsironis EducationSpecialist HumanandSocialDevelopmentSectorOfficeSectorGroup AsianDevelopmentBank TheAsiaandPacificregionishighlyexposedtotheeffectsofclimatechange.Sixoutofthetoptencountriesintheworldmostaffectedbyweather-relatedloss(i.e.,storms,floods,landslides,andheatwaves)in2000–2019areindevelopingAsia(Ecksteinetal.2021).Climatechangeunderahighemissionsscenariocouldimposegrossdomesticproductlossesof24%inthewholeofdevelopingAsia,including35%inIndiaand32%inSoutheastAsiaby2100(ADB2023).Theregionisincreasinglyacontributortotheglobalclimatecrisiswithitsshareofglobalgreenhousegas(GHG)emissionsdoublingfrom22%in1990to44%in2019(ADB2023).Thus,decisiveactionisneeded. Governmentsintheregionfaceamajorpolicychallengeinleadingthetransitiontoalow-carboneconomy.Thispolicychallengespansacrossmultiplesectorsandincludesthetransitiontorenewableenergy,electrifiedtransport,energy-efficientconstruction,nature-basedsolutions,andacirculareconomy.1Itrequiresaconcertedpolicyeffortthatincludesthedevelopmentofconducivepolicyframeworks,accesstogreenfinance,andthepromotionofsustainabletechnologies(ADB2017,OECD2023). Theintroductionofsustainabletechnologieswillimpactlabormarketsandcompanies’workforcerequirements.Newgreenjobswillemerge,andskillrequirementsofmanyexistingjobsaresettochange(VanderRee2019)withskillsplayinganimportantroleingreentechnologyadoption(Hötte2019).Itisestimatedthat43%oftheworkforceinAsiaandthePacificisemployedinindustriesthatareeithervulnerable2toclimateextremesorthetransitiontoalow-carboneconomy(Deloitte2023).Thus,green workforcedevelopmentisacentralpillarofthetransitiontoalow-carboneconomy,andeducationsystemsneedtobepreparedtomeetemerginggreenskillneeds. ISBN978-92-9270-364-6(print) ISBN978-92-9270-365-3(electronic) ISSN2071-7202(print) ISSN2218-2675(electronic))PublicationStockNo.BRF230397-2 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/BRF230397-2 TheauthorwouldliketogivespecialthankstoPaulVandenberg,OleksiyIvaschenko,RyotaroHayashi,BrajeshPanth,MeekyungShin,andMilanThomasfortheircommentsandsuggestions. Note:ADBrecognizes“Vietnam”asVietNam 1Theterminologiesgreentransitionandtransitiontoalowcarboneconomyareusedinterchangeably. 2Industriesidentifiedasmostvulnerabletophysicalclimatedamageandnetzerotransitionriskareagriculture,conventionalenergyandmining,heavyindustryandmanufacturing,transport,andconstruction. GovernmentsrecognizetheneedforactionandgreenworkforcedevelopmentinitiativesaretakingshapeacrossAsiaandthePacific.TheGreenJobsActinthePhilippines(TESDA2023),theSkillCouncilforGreenJobsinIndiaandGreenTechnologyMasterPlaninMalaysia(KeTTHA2017)arejustsomeexamples.However,thecurrentspeedofgreenworkforcedevelopmenthasbeendeemedtooslowtomeetclimatetargets(Linkedin2022).Climateeducationandskillsdevelopmentpoliciesarescarcelymentionedinnationallydeterminedcontributionsofmanycountries(ILO2019,Kwauk2021,UNESCO2021).Policiesongreenskillsandjobsarealsooftenatanascentstage.Assuch,lowlevelsofknowledgeamongstakeholdersaswellasthelackof clearlydelineatedtaxonomiesofgreenjobsandskillsarepotentialbarriersforeffectivegreenworkforcedevelopment(KwaukandCasey2022,Stanef-Puicăetal.2022,WorldBank2023). Thebriefpresentsfiverecommendationsforbuildingaskilledgreenworkforceforthetransitiontolow-carboneconomiesacrossAsiaandthePacific.Byoutliningdifferentdefinitionsofgreenjobs,itwillhelpdefinewhatconstitutesagreenjobformingthebasis fortargetedpolicyactions.Inaddition,basedondataofgreenlabormarketforecastsandskillsneedscomparisons,thebriefpointstothespecificjobsandskillsthatareanticipatedtobeindemandinthegreeneconomy.ThebriefcanhelppolicymakersandadministratorsfromtheAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)developingmembercountriesintakingtheirgreenworkforcedevelopmentinitiativesfurtherforward. WHATAREGREENJOBS? Box1:GreenTaxonomiesinAsiaandthePacific TheapplicationofthegreenindustrydefinitionrequiresagreentaxonomythatclassifieseconomicactivitiesandoutputsofaneconomyasgreenasillustratedbythefivegroupsoftheUnitedStatesBureauofLaborStatistics.NationalgreentaxonomieshavebeenemergingacrossAsiaandthePacific,suchastheGreenTaxonomyEdition1.0inIndonesia(OtoritasJasaKeuangan2022),theSriLankaGreenFinanceTaxonomy(CentralBankofSriLanka2022),theFijianSustainableBondFramework(MinistryofEconomy2022)andtheSustainableFinancePolicyforB