Climate Change Response Research Survey Background
In June 2008, a CSIRO report to the Dusseldorp Skills Forum (“Growing the Green Collar Economy’) outlined the significant labour challenges in reducing Australia’s greenhouse emissions and national environmental footprint. Since then, the country has committed to binding emission reduction targets and the implementation of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). The report claims that achieving a transition to a low carbon economy will require massive mobilisation of skills and training - both to equip new workers and to enable changes in practices by the 3 million workers already employed in the key sectors influencing our environmental footprint. Current approaches are nowhere near sufficient to meet these challenges.
The CSIRO report found that current information on green skills and workforce capabilities are very poor: the report was not able to identify comprehensive or consistent data about green collar jobs either in Australia or in other countries. There is evidence that skills shortages are affecting consumers ability to switch to more sustainable or energy efficient alternatives and there is little information about the consumer demand for green products and services. Employment in sectors with high potential environmental impacts will grow strongly with projected increases of more than 10% over 10 years. This will add 230,000 to 340,000 new jobs – in addition to normal employment turnover – in the transport, construction, agriculture, manufacturing and mining sectors.
Whilst industry “call in” expertise is available to support many green skills strategies in the workplace, this approach is unsustainable and does not meet the needs of having a highly attuned workforce with a strong skills and knowledge base around sustainability and climate change. This skills and knowledge gap is better met through the analysis of emerging needs and the provision of new educational products and services which will support a culture change and build capability in industry workers to identify and act on issues effecting climate change.
