The International Youth Day for this year highlights the heightened importance for younger people, who can contribute to the green transition for a longer period of time.
Giving his message on International Youth Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “Humanity depends on the boundless energy, ideas, and contributions of youth everywhere. Today and every day, let’s support and stand with young people in shaping a just and sustainable world, for people and the planet. ”
As the world embarks on a green transition the importance of the shift toward an environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly world becomes manifold as it is crucial for responding to not only the global climate crisis but also for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A successful transition towards a greener world will depend on the development of green skills in the population. Green skills are “knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society”.
These include technical knowledge and skills that enable the effective use of green technologies and processes in occupational settings, as well as transversal skills that draw on a range of knowledge, values, and attitudes to facilitate environmentally sustainable decisions in work and in life.
Due to their interdisciplinary nature, the essence of green skills is sometimes expressed, partly if not wholly, through other associated terms such as “skills for the future” and “skills for green jobs”. While green skills are relevant for people of all ages, they have heightened importance for younger people, who can contribute to the green transition for a longer period of time.
The green transition will result in the creation of 8.4 million jobs for young people by 2030. Young people need to be well-equipped with green skills to navigate this changing environment.
Why youth is important for achieving Green Transition:
Half of the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030. A survey shows that 67% of people believe in a better future, with 15 to 17-year-olds being the most optimistic about this. The majority of people agree that the age balance in politics is wrong.
More than two-thirds (69%) of people across all age groups agree that more opportunities for younger people to have a say in policy development/change would make political systems better. Globally, only 2.6% of parliamentarians are under 30 years old, and less than 1% of these young MPs are women.
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