There are many constraints to the green transition—a lack of climate finance, political will, and technology—yet the lack of skilled manpower is rarely discussed. International bodies have admitted that shortages of skilled labor are already translating into project delays and impacting investment decisions. No country currently has enough domestic talent to support the green transition, and current training pipelines are not being scaled up quickly enough to meet agreed upon targets.

Skilled migration is one option, but it would merely move the problem around. The world needs an increase in the global stock of workers skilled in things like heat pump installation and solar panel engineering if we are to have a chance of reducing carbon emissions. To do that, we need to pair increased skilled migration with “compensation” to their country of origin to support domestic talent pipelines.

Doing so would provide multiple benefits. Trainees would get access to better pay and opportunities. Countries of destination would receive the skills they need to mitigate climate change and meet net-zero commitments. Countries of origin would gain an increasing green skills base, making them more attractive to foreign direct investment, and remittance flows. All countries, whether participating or not, would benefit from a more stable climate.

Our initiative will explore what is meant by “green skills”, where they are needed, who could provide them, and how creatively combining training and migration could help. We will bring together key actors in this space—such as those in the migration, education, and climate communities—to understand the constraints to such an approach and work to overcome them.

CGD would like to acknowledge the generous support and engagement of Robert Bosch Stiftung.