At the launch event, Dr. Barbara Botos, Ambassador-at-large for Climate, Ministry of Energy of Hungary, emphasised, “The color of energy is green. But green energy is only meaningful if we can store it. The industry is a world of interconnections. We need balanced development in all sectors to accelerate green transition everywhere. But does Europe have the skills to accelerate the green transition? SolarPower Europe predicted that in the EU solar sector alone, one million jobs will emerge by 2025.
During the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), AE4RIA and Huawei organized a session with the UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub to “Accelerate Green Innovation” and unveiled a white paper titled “Twin Skills for the Twin Transition: Defining Green Digital Skills and Jobs.” Collaboratively developed with the ATHENA Research Centre, Sustainable Development Unit under AE4RIA, PwC, and with contributions from EIT Digital, the report serves as a roadmap for creating new training programs essential for preparing the green digital workforce required to attain net-zero goals.
Opening the event, Vicky Zhang, Vice President of Corporate Affairs from Huawei, said, “I am proud to launch the new report today with our partners. The report focuses on developing a new classification for Green Digital Skills that will define the course of action to reskill and upskill people to build and spread the net-zero technologies needed to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives.”
Salvatore Moccia, Head of Education and Skills, EIT Digital, highlighted, “More than three-quarters of companies in the EU report difficulties finding workers with the right skill set. With the acceleration of the digital and green transitions, a paradigm shift in defining, identifying, and developing skills for the twin transition is thus required. This is fully aligned with our reskilling and upskilling programs”.
In an era of multiple crises, addressing economic growth without paying equal attention to sustainability is no longer possible and does not ultimately produce the expected financial results. In parallel, the presence of digital technologies in almost all aspects of our lives has exponentially increased the speed of changes and impact on people and businesses. But today is not just about a digital transition. It is about a clean-tech revolution powered by the need to produce green energy. And this has the potential to have a significant impact on jobs.
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri, President EAERE, and Chair of SDSN Global Climate Hub, who led the research efforts, also warned, “In the context of the European Green Deal, the Twin Transition is accelerating structural changes in labor markets. And while the EU is developing a new net-zero industrial strategy to strengthen its competitiveness, talent may be short. I am proud of this collaboration that will inform educational, industrial, and policy stakeholders about the new labor needs to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.”
With new industrial and technological challenges, the educational offering has to evolve and meet new needs. Industry players like Huawei stand ready to increase training offerings. A collaborative ecosystem to upskill and skill-qualified professionals will be the keystone of this new era.
