UNEP-SPBF has launched its first ever Working Group on Youth for Green Jobs and Entrepreneurship as a space for young people to interact with academics, policymakers, and business sector stakeholders on an equal footing, across the different themes of UNEP-SBPF.
The Working Group was launched at the UNEP-SPBF Third Global Session on 18 February during a dedicated pre-session on Green Jobs and Green Entrepreneurship: The Future We Want, co-convened in partnership with the UNEP Major Group for Children and Youth, UNEP’s Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Both in their teens, the session was moderated by Gyubin Hwang, UNEP Major Group for Children and Youth, Steering Committee, and Edie Threlfall, Youth Advocate.
Youth have been particularly affected by the ongoing pandemic with over 200 million students currently enrolled in the higher education system and 71 million unemployed youth struggling to find a job, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Asad Naqvi, Head of Secretariat, UNEP PAGE, emphasised, the foundational role of the environment in our economy and pointed to the vital role of policy for delivering the transition to a sustainable economy, during his speech at the Third Global Session.
According to ILO, while the transition to a green economy will add an estimated 60 million new jobs to the market by 2030, these are conditional on the availability of relevant skills and training. Green entrepreneurship is seen by many as instrumental in responding to those challenges by providing environmentally sustainable products, services and production techniques, whilst creating green jobs for young people.
Moustapha Kamal Gueye, Coordinator Green Jobs Programme, ILO, reported on ILO analyses showing there is no trade-off between greening the economy and creating jobs. In the energy sector alone, he said during the Third Global Session, that shifting from fossil fuels to green energy, accelerating energy efficiency, and deploying electric vehicles can create 24 million jobs. He called for a skills transition to align educational systems with the jobs of the future.
Demonstrating the power of green entrepreneurship for creating positive change and employment opportunities were two entrepreneurs from the UNEP-SPBF Green Technology Startup Initiative – Cassandra Delage, Founder and CEO, Plast’if in France and Dhruv Khanna, Co-founder, Triton Foodworks in India, who are tackling plastic waste and inefficient food production respectively through their innovative business models.
Going forward, the UNEP-SPBF Working Group on Youth for Green Jobs and Entrepreneurship will work to ensure the voice of youth is heard and actioned in decision-making processes at multiple levels and across multiple sectors.
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Header photo: TOP L-R: Edie Threlfall and Gyubin Hwang, session moderators, BOTTOM L-R: Cassandra Delage, Plast’if, and Dhruv Khanna, Triton Foodworks