What are green skills?

The climate crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of our time – and it isn’t going to resolve on its own.

One of the most important ways to prepare children, and to ensure a sustainable future for all, is to ensure that they are educated and trained in green skills. Green skills describe the knowledge that we all need to develop and live in a sustainable society and environment.

Much of education is aimed at helping children to understand how the world works. Even young children, for example, are taught that a ball falls to the floor because of gravity, that water turns to ice when temperatures are cold, and that plants grow from seeds. But the world is changing, and what children are taught about it must change, too – whether that is teaching about how ecosystems are connected, why the ozone layer protects the earth, or that carbon in the atmosphere causes temperatures to rise.

These skills may sound “separate” from other types of education, but because the climate and environment affect every single school subject (and touch every part of children’s lives), they can be woven into every aspect of a curriculum.

Green skills also prepare children for their future careers. As the climate crisis continues, we need more and more people with expertise in sustainability and the environment – in every single industry. 

These might include farmers who specialize in low-carbon techniques, engineers who build offshore wind turbines or architects who design energy-efficient buildings. It also includes those who work to protect wildlife and habitats, such as environmental scientists, forestry workers and ecologists. It even includes many careers that may not sound like “green jobs”, but that have important roles to play in a more sustainable society – like bicycle mechanics, train conductors, or climate-literate teachers.

And it includes the inventors, thought leaders and creators who are envisioning and creating solutions for a more sustainable planet.

The more support and education we can provide children, from the earliest ages, the more of our population will be part of the climate solution. By integrating climate education and green skills into school curricula, we can foster a generation of informed and proactive individuals who are equipped with the skills they need to adapt to climate change and champion environmental sustainability. 

Despite the urgency, many countries in Europe, Central Asia and elsewhere have yet to implement comprehensive climate education policies. 

In a world in which temperatures are rising fast, heatwaves, floods and other climate-induced disasters are more prevalent, and natural habitats are collapsing, climate skills are as necessary as learning to read or write. And they will only continue to become more and more crucial in the future.