Green Job Opportunities Surge in Africa
A recent report reveals that employment in African cities is benefitting from accelerated investment in the green economy, with more job opportunities on the way.
Bonface Orucho, bird story agency
African cities are among those reaping the rewards of ongoing rapid investment in climate action and related interventions. A new report shows more than 11% of all jobs on the continent are now green jobs – 7.5% direct jobs and 4.4% indirect jobs.
The analysis, conducted by C40, a global network of nearly 100 mayors from leading cities, examined 74 global cities across five continents.
“More than 168 million jobs were captured overall. Nearly 16 million of these can be classified as green jobs—about 10% of total employment. This includes almost 10 million direct green jobs and nearly 6 million indirect ones,” the researchers noted in their June report.
“This indicates that, in addition to creating direct green jobs, green investments are driving demand for materials and inputs, boosting employment in supplier industries,” they explain in the analysis on the C40 Cites website.
Notably, African cities such as Freetown, Nairobi, and Accra dominate the top five cities with more than 20% of jobs classified as green jobs. Bangkok, Thailand, and Lima, Peru are the only non-African cities to make the list.
The analysis, which utilized a methodology developed by Circle Economy and is based on International Labour Organization (ILO) definitions, was conducted in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
It revealed that most green jobs are found in sectors heavily influenced by local public policy, including transport and waste management.
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Sectors where more than 25% of jobs are classified as green include water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities, transportation and storage, electricity generation, steam and air conditioning supply, and the construction sector.
However, the report notes there is potential for even more green jobs in the region, as over 50% of jobs in many African countries are in informal sectors and may not have been captured in official statistics.
Despite the progress, equity gaps persist when assessing who benefits from these green jobs.
“Women occupy less than 10% of jobs in the construction sector and around 12% in the transport and storage sectors, on average,” the report highlights.
Young workers (under 24) also account for only 12% of jobs in construction and 10% in transport and storage sectors, on average.
“The green transition also presents an opportunity to address existing inequalities and create more diverse and inclusive workforces,” the researchers explain.
The momentum behind green jobs is expected to grow, with projections from other sources such as Shortlist and FSD Africa, in a June report, suggesting that over 3 million new direct green jobs could be created on the continent by 2030.
Different cities are already fast embracing programs and initiatives that promise to avail more green jobs. In Accra, for instance, a green jobs program supported by the Global Cities Fund is tackling waste management while creating jobs for locals. The program has integrated 40 waste workers into cooperatives and registered over 250 people for health insurance.
Besides having a dedicated energy and climate change unit Cape Town is considered a pioneer in opening up more opportunities in climate-related sectors especially in energy transition.
Cocody in Ivory Coast has recently launched its Green City Plan, targeting a 70% reduction in emissions by 2030. The plan aims to slash local greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% and generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs while promoting sustainable lifestyles among residents. Similar ambitious initiatives are also underway in Dakar, Kampala, Tsévié, and Yaoundé, according to the World Economic Forum.
In addition, growing public discussions are shaping future goals and creating new opportunities for the green sector. Nairobi’s inaugural National Green Jobs and Skills Development Workshop, held in May, brought together global partners such as the ILO, UNEP, and UNICEF. With a target of 240,000 green jobs by 2030, Nairobi is positioning itself as a leader in sustainable employment initiatives.
A similar workshop was hosted in Johannesburg in March dubbed the ‘Building City Resilience Through a Just and Equitable Transition.’
At the 2022 C40 World Mayors Summit, mayors pledged to create 50 million quality green jobs globally by 2030. Earlier in year, the report by FSD Africa and Shortlist projected South Africa to lead in green job growth, with 85,000 to 275,000 new opportunities. Nigeria is expected to follow with 60,000 to 240,000 jobs, while Kenya is forecasted to generate between 40,000 and 240,000 green jobs.
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