Centering Youth in Green Workforce Development

• In Event: Climate awareness and action for all ages and stages: findings and recommendations from studies at the intersection of climate change and children and youth

Proposal

By 2050, it is estimated that at least 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, Northern Africa, and Western Asia will experience a 62 percent increase in their youth population, accounting for more than 150 million additional youth globally (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2019). At the same time, governments and the private sector are mobilizing billions of dollars to shift to more sustainable economic practices to address the climate crisis. These investments promise to have a substantial impact on “green job” growth and creation, with projections ranging from 6 million jobs created along the agricultural value chain on the African continent alone (Mungai et al., 2018) to 1.2 billion jobs in ecosystem services supporting farming, fishing, forestry, and tourism globally (Cook and Taylor, 2020). Additionally, green entrepreneurship provides youth with an avenue to innovate new roles and create jobs not yet imaginable.

However, the possibility of youth being unable to find decent green jobs must be considered, as an alarming 71 million youth are currently unemployed (Nishimura and Rowe, 2021). The transition to the greening economy must also be equitable to not exclude youth. To address these issues, Chemonics International and Unbounded Associates developed guidance to support international development organizations (IDOs) in facilitating a “just transition” to the green economy. The guidance documents draw from the Positive Youth Development perspective to understand how well youth are being introduced to green job opportunities, the degree to which they are feeling prepared to pursue such opportunities, and the extent that these opportunities are responding to their lived realities.

Centering Youth in Green Workforce Development: An Action Guide is a tool for IDOs, providing actionable pathways to integrate green life skills and skills for green jobs into programming across sectors. Youth voices are centered, with findings from 16 youth climate and environment experts; Chemonics technical experts; and youth beneficiaries and partners of 10 USAID-funded, Chemonics-implemented projects. The Guide offers information on projected green job opportunities in climate-smart agriculture (CSA), natural climate solutions (NCS), and youth entrepreneurship. Suggestions are also shared for combatting normative and structural barriers that limit green job opportunities and participation, and ways to support youth in a green transition.

Complementing the Action Guide is the Analysis of Global Youth-Led Climate Initiatives. This analysis of 50 youth-led climate initiatives depicts the current state of global youth-led climate action and insights to support the development of youth-focused green workforce development programming, blending advocacy and action. Through these initiatives, we can identify the skills that can support youth participation in climate activism; enabling factors for successful youth-led initiatives; and gaps in youth-led and youth-focused programming. Additionally, three case studies explore successful CSA, NCS, and youth entrepreneurship initiatives from projects in Colombia, Pakistan, and Uganda.

These resources are a starting point for IDOs to intentionally center young people and youth climate activists in green programming. Through this research, youth make a direct call to action to the international development community and share the best approaches to responding to their needs.

Author

• Katherine E Centore, Chemonics International