As part of the 17th European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), Ivana Rogulj, senior energy expert at the Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy (IEECP), spoke at a conference in Brussels on Tuesday 20 June about the desire of some European cities to go even further to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. “The Finnish cities are aiming for 2025”, said Ms Rogulj.
She explained how this heightened ambition has led to new and greater skills requirements within European local administrations. Her claims were based on a study carried out by Energy Cities - a European association of cities undergoing an energy transition - which estimates that “214,000 new positions need to be created in local administrations in Europe, in the period from now on up until 2030” to support the green transition.
Ms Rogulj also stressed the importance of developing both the skills of citizens and the internal capabilities of municipal administrations. She reiterated the need to create new roles within government departments, such as “coordinators that can bring different departments together” to implement climate plans, and public procurement and regulatory specialists to facilitate public-private partnerships.
Encouraging examples were also mentioned, such as the first solar energy school, which opened in Marseille in September 2022. As Ivana Rogulj pointed out, this establishment offers “specialised training for young people from the age of 15” to install solar panels. By preparing students to become qualified electricians in the field of solar power, “this initiative is training new generations to meet the energy challenges of the future”, she noted.
The administrations responsible for cities’ real estate assets were also discussed, with the need to make jobs within them attractive in order to attract the talent needed for the energy transition. Ms Rogulj also cited the example of specific vocational training programmes, such as retraining coal miners, to make these jobs attractive and communicate about career opportunities and their positive impact on the environment.
She also presented targeted ‘one-stop shop’ services as essential for skills development and planning. These services help companies to understand the skills they need to embrace the energy transition. “For example, in Belgium, specialist trainers are working with local NGOs to solve specific skills shortages by offering targeted training to workers”, Ivana Rogulj concluded.
The EUSEW Policy Conference takes place from 20 to 22 June in Brussels. This year’s theme is ‘Accelerating the transition to clean energy: towards lower bills and more skills’. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)