Education and Skills for the Green Economy

Dear Colleagues,

The idea of the green economy has gained prominence mainly because it provides a response to the multiple crises that the world has experienced in recent years, in particular to the climate, food and economic crises. And it offers an alternative prospect of growth while protecting the earth’s eco-systems and, in turn, contributing to poverty alleviation.

In June 2012, the United Nations convened an international conference on sustainable development in Rio, Brazil .Its main themes were: a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional frameworks for sustainable development. The draft vision for the conference stated clearly and optimistically that” a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should lead inter alia to meeting key global priorities such as food security, more effective water management and access to modern energy supply systems. And lead to improved resilience, public health and sustained, inclusive and equitable growth that generates employment, including for youth.”
In many regions of the world there is a growing and tangible policy focus on economic growth based on building a substantial ‘green economy’. Indeed, the UK and many member states of the European Union are currently highlighting the potential impact of an emerging global ‘green economy’ on the world of work. Efforts to tackle climate change could, for example, result in the creation of millions of new jobs in the coming decades.
There is little doubt that a changing climate will bring fundamental changes to economies and societies and skills will be needed to build adaptive capacity and take adaptive action. Developing this adaptive capacity across society will require research on what skills will be needed in the long term, and will demand a response by schools, colleges, universities and professional associations as well as governments. This Special Issue will critically assess how the educational and training policy discourse is developing to reflect the opportunities of the green economy and how education and training practice is changing to meet the demands of the emerging green economy in regions of the world.

Prof. Dr Stephen Martin
Dr. Andrew McCoshan
Guest Editors

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