Experiences from the Just Energy Transition Partnerships have shown how important it is to create good jobs, including for workers who will lose employment prospects due to the phasing out of fossil fuel extraction. The overarching question is, how can we achieve climate-related goals (mitigation and adaptation) and turn them into an opportunity rather than a cost factor for society?

A key answer lies in promoting the development of green skills and qualifications for green jobs. Currently, not even half of all the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) include training strategies that prepare people for the green economy of the future. It is, therefore, essential to develop education and vocational training programs and to discuss policy reforms that facilitate investment in green jobs and skills development.

Without trained professionals, the world could face a shortage of six million skilled workers in the renewable energy sector alone by 2030, including engineers, skilled tradespeople and teachers. This would put the 1.5°C climate target at risk of slipping out of reach.

This is where the Global Initiative on Jobs & Skills for the New Economy – launched by GIZ and initiated during COP30 in Belém – comes in. The initiative focuses on the skills transformation required due to technological and demographic change, geopolitics and climate change.

The session will highlight key challenges and discuss approaches that can deliver a triple dividend: more resilient economies, stronger social cohesion, and faster progress toward climate goals.