Climate Talent a Central Theme at ClimateWeekNYC 2023

I’m still processing all the awesomeness of #ClimateWeekNYC. One thing was clear: #ClimateTalent is increasingly a part of the #climatechange story.?

Here’s what we know: we need an all-hands-on-deck approach to fighting climate change. That means all of us - every worker regardless of title, level, or industry - has a role to play. Whether it’s working in a green job or finding the greener version of our current jobs, we all can contribute.?

The problem is that the global workforce isn’t there yet. According to LinkedIn’s 2023 Global Green Skills Report, only 1-in-8 workers have at least one green skill.?That needs to change.

During #ClimateWeekNYC, I felt hope. Why? The movement to grow climate talent by investing in green skills is growing. Here are four reasons I felt hope:

• Philanthropy is getting involved. World Economic Forum , Workday , LinkedIn , Salesforce , and the Growald Climate Fund convened a cross-sector group of climate and workforce leaders (two groups that need to spend more time together, I'll save the for another article) to discuss what it will take to accelerate climate talent development for the transition to 100% renewable energy. The Forum’s Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) initiative could be the ticket that unlocks public-private-philanthropic partnerships that drive impact at scale. Major shout out to Carrie Varoquiers , Luis Alvarado Martinez , Estelle Winkleman , Piper Sutherland , and Joanna Messing for bringing this together.

• Employers and companies are stepping up. I listened to corporate sustainability leaders like Ellen Jackowski , Melanie Nakagawa and Peggy Brannigan describe how 萬事達卡 , 微软 , and LinkedIn are leading the way in terms of connecting corporate sustainability goals to employees, customers, and suppliers. One example of this at work: Mastercard has a bonus multiplier tied to achieving its #ESG goals. That is one way to make every employee take ownership of this work.?

• Government is making strategic investments. Every time I heard Betony Jones speak, I heard one example after another as to how the U.S. government is working on creating economic opportunities for Americans through the transition to a more sustainable economy. On top of that, the Biden Administration announced the launch of America’s Climate Corps. And that’s not all. C40 Cities brought together mayors from around the world to? show how cities are fighting climate change and creating good, green jobs along the way.?
• Representativeness and diversity are getting attention. Programs like Elemental Impact ’s EDiCT program are focused on making climate tech companies (large and small) more representative of the communities impacted by climate change and who’ve been historically left out of the economic opportunities to date. And with no SNL due to the writers’ strike, we had the pleasure of listening to Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost crack jokes about LinkedIn’s green skills research. Maybe now that the writers have a new contract, we’ll make it to late night :) That’s not all - every time I logged on to LinkedIn, I saw Kristy Drutman , Sophia Kianni , and Taj Ahmad Eldridge posting about how we make the climate movement more inclusive and effective.?

As UN Secretary General António Guterres highlighted during the Climate Ambition Summit, the challenge ahead of us is daunting. We have so much more to do. And these small examples on their own aren’t enough, but they are small steps in the right direction.?

To quote reggae artist Matisyahu in his new single “ripples become waves over time.” Let’s make some waves.?