Global Green Talent Demand Surges, But Supply Lags Behind: LinkedIn Report

LinkedIn's ‘Global Climate Talent Stocktake 2024’, published on 19 September, has revealed a growing disparity between the demand and supply of green talent. The report highlights an 11.6 per cent increase in global demand for green skills from 2023 to 2024, while the supply has only grown by 5.6 per cent. If these trends persist, the gap is projected to widen by over 100 per cent by 2050.

Several nations are leading the charge in green skills adoption. The UK tops the list, with 13 per cent of job roles requiring at least one green skill, followed closely by Ireland (12.4%), Saudi Arabia (11.7%), Norway (11.6%), and Switzerland (11.5%). However, countries like Portugal saw a dramatic 71.3 per cent increase in demand for green talent year-on-year, with the UK trailing behind with a 46 per cent rise.

Germany, focusing heavily on green hydrogen as part of its net-zero strategy, saw an incredible 224.5 per cent growth in renewable hydrogen skills and a 130.7 per cent increase in hydrogen storage skills.

LinkedIn's Vice President of Public Policy and Economic Graph, Sue Duke, stressed the importance of addressing this growing talent gap, said “Every climate commitment is at risk if we don’t have the workforce to deliver the change we urgently need.”

As the world prepares for the upcoming UN climate summit, COP29, in Baku this November, LinkedIn’s report has become a critical reminder that building a green workforce is as essential as any other climate initiative. The platform urges governments to incorporate green skills development into their climate strategies and calls for a formal COP29 declaration to accelerate global climate workforce expansion.

Hiring Boom For Green Talent

The report further highlights the higher hiring rates for green talent compared to other roles. Globally, the hiring rate for green skills is 54.6 per cent greater than for the general workforce. In the U.S., where demand for green talent rose by 9.8 per cent and supply by just 3.1 per cent, the hiring rate for green roles is 80.3 per cent higher than for other jobs. Similarly, Ireland saw green hiring rates rise by 79.8 per cent, despite only a 6.3 per cent increase in talent supply.

Even in countries like Finland and the Netherlands, where green job postings have decreased, green talent continues to be hired at over twice the rate of non-green talent.

The urgency to close the skills gap has never been greater, and LinkedIn stresses that immediate action is necessary to develop the global green talent pool. It calls on governments to incorporate skills development in their Paris Agreement contributions.

Soft Skills In Sustainability

A separate study by Oxford Brookes Business School, in partnership with Climate Change Coaches, found that the lack of soft skills is another key obstacle to achieving climate targets. Titled ‘Holding Back Climate Progress: Sustainability’s Critical Skills Gap’, the study surveyed 159 sustainability professionals globally and discovered that soft skills like teamwork, empowerment and change management are not being prioritised in corporate training, despite their importance in driving organisational change.

Zoe Greenwood, co-founder of Climate Change Coaches, emphasised the emotional toll that sustainability professionals often face due to the challenging nature of their roles: “Organisations need to prioritize soft skills and foster a supportive culture to make meaningful progress on climate goals while tackling the risk of burnout.”