Skills, jobs and the just transition for climate action: The ETF at COP31

09 Nov 2026

COP31 | Antalya, Türkiye | 9-20 November 2026

As countries move from climate commitments to implementation, ensuring people have the skills to support the green transition is becoming an urgent challenge.

Policy ambition, investment, technology, workers, institutions and education and training systems all play a role in turning climate commitments into action.

This is one of the key messages that the European Training Foundation (ETF), the European Union agency supporting human capital development, brings to COP31. The ETF's work across partner countries shows that climate commitments require strong skills systems, effective institutions and a workforce prepared for change.

Why are skills essential for climate action?

Countries have committed to reducing emissions, increasing energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the national climate commitments submitted under the Paris Agreement.

However, climate targets alone do not reduce emissions. Implementation requires workers who can install renewable energy systems, renovate buildings, apply new technologies, manage sustainable infrastructure and support the transformation of industries.

Climate action is also a workforce challenge.

Without adequate skills, even well-funded climate policies can face delays, labour shortages and implementation bottlenecks. The transition to a low-carbon economy therefore requires investment not only in technology and infrastructure but also in people.

The European Training Foundation's work shows that climate ambition is most effective when it is closely linked to employment, skills and workforce development policies. In its report Empowering the Fair Transition in EU Neighbourhood and Central Asia, the ETF highlights the need for stronger coordination between climate, education and labour market policies to ensure that countries have the workforce capacity needed to deliver their climate goals.

The report identifies several priorities for action: anticipating future skills needs, involving employers and workers in planning, strengthening education and training systems, and supporting people and communities affected by economic transformation. These measures are essential for ensuring a just transition that creates decent work and quality jobs while helping economies adapt to climate change.

The ETF also supports country-level analysis to help governments align climate ambitions with workforce development strategies. In Moldova, for example, the ETF has examined how skills policies can better support the country's green transition objectives.

The ETF’s analysis highlights the importance of integrating skills, employment and workforce development into climate strategies. Climate commitments depend on people with the skills needed to put them into practice can only become reality when countries invest in the people who will implement them.

Building the Skills Needed for the Green Economy

Preparing workers for the green economy requires what policymakers increasingly describe as skills anticipation: the ability to identify future labour market needs and respond before shortages emerge.

This means:

forecasting changing skills requirements;

involving employers in education and training planning;

updating curricula and qualifications;

supporting workers affected by economic transformation;

strengthening cooperation between ministries responsible for climate, education and employment.

Climate commitments need people with the skills and capacity to deliver them. This principle is becoming increasingly important as countries move from climate planning to climate implementation.

Vocational Education and Training for the Green Transition

Developing green skills depends heavily on vocational education and training (VET), which prepares learners for the technical and practical demands of a changing labour market.

Through GRETA (Greening Responses to Excellence through Thematic Actions), the ETF supports vocational education and training systems in adapting to the green and digital transitions.

GRETA promotes a whole-institution approach to sustainability. This means that environmental objectives are integrated not only into curricula but also into institutional strategies, teacher development, partnerships with employers and the overall organisation of learning. Rather than creating a limited number of specialised green courses, the aim is to help training institutions embed sustainability across all relevant activities and programmes.

The initiative also supports cooperation between training providers, businesses, public authorities and other stakeholders, recognising that the green transition requires coordinated action across the entire skills system.

Why is the ETF bringing this message to COP31?

COP31 is increasingly focused on implementation and how countries can deliver the climate commitments they have already made.

The European Training Foundation contributes to this discussion by highlighting the importance of skills, jobs and workforce readiness.

Its work connects:

climate commitments with workforce development;

a just transition with decent work and quality employment;

the energy transition with green skills;

sustainable development with education and training reform;

climate ambition with the institutional capacity needed to deliver results.

As COP31 highlights the challenge of turning climate commitments into concrete action, skills and workforce readiness are becoming increasingly important to successful implementation.

From renewable energy and sustainable construction to workforce planning and vocational education and training, the green transition requires skills at every level. By supporting countries in aligning climate ambitions with skills development and labour market policies, the European Training Foundation (ETF) helps ensure that the transition is not only greener, but also fairer, more inclusive and capable of delivering lasting results.