LONDON - Africa, despite contributing only 3% of global carbon emissions, holds unique potential to lead in global decarbonization efforts and capitalize on new green industries. With vast natural resources, renewable energy potential,
and the world's largest rising workforce, Africa can leapfrog directly to renewable energy, bypassing carbon-intensive infrastructure.

Some expert organizations have estimated that the green economy could create up to 100 million new and improved jobs and livelihoods across Africa by 2050.

Achieving Africa's green promise requires supportive policies, infrastructure, and significant financial investments, estimated at over $100 billion annually. However, the success of green economic growth also hinges on developing the right human capital and talent. A skilled green workforce is essential for both driving and benefiting from this growth.

Unfortunately, human capital often receives less attention in these discussions. While infrastructure, policy, and capital flows are frequently analyzed, talent demand and supply dynamics have been overlooked—until now.

This report presents the first pan-African forecast for near-term direct job creation in select green sectors, aimed at educators, training institutions, staffing firms, and policymakers. It serves as a foundation for further research on labor demand across different sectors, regions, and timeframes. The near-term projection of over 3 million new direct jobs in 12 sub-sectors
by 2030 is significant, but it underestimates the broader job creation potential. This is due to:

• Focusing only on jobs created by 2030, while the largest potential lies in the long term.

• Considering only the 12 most mature sub-sectors, excluding for now promising areas like biofuels, green hydrogen, agroforestry, and regenerative agriculture.

• Excluding "green-adjacent" sectors like minerals and mining, which are crucial for green growth but not typically considered green under current practices.

• Counting only direct jobs, not indirect, induced or “productive use” employment, which could significantly increase job creation estimates. We believe it is important to start with this narrow 2030 view, because these 3+ million jobs will underpin broader growth in the green workforce. If we fail to identify, train and equip the talent needed immediately for Africa’s
maturing industries, the larger and longer-term forecasts may remain aspirations.

We hope this report highlights the critical role of human capital in green economic growth and suggests further research to provide a detailed view of skills demand and potential mismatches. Alongside the report, we are also sharing the full Excel spreadsheet to enable others to learn from and build on the methodology. We look forward to feedback and efforts to build on this.

For the full report, visit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KU0-2UKaOQx0QscvxYy1AtDqdN8MAB8t/view