Although it could lead to massive job destruction in the fossil fuel sector, both in Africa and other regions, the transition to a green economy holds great potential for creating skilled and stable jobs for the continent’s youth in many other economic sectors.

The green economy could create between 1.5 and 3.3 million direct jobs in Africa by 2030 in the twelve most developed subsectors of the continent, such as solar energy, the manufacturing of two or three-wheeled electric vehicles, and climate-smart agricultural technologies, according to a report published in late July by FSD Africa, a development agency funded by the UK government, and the human resources consulting firm Shortlist. Titled "Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa," the report only considered five sectors in which African countries have already reached a certain level of maturity: energy and electricity, mobility and transport, agriculture and nature, construction and real estate, and manufacturing and materials.

These sectors were prioritized based on the continent’s comparative advantages and their potential intensity in job creation in the short term. They were then subdivided into twelve fairly mature subsectors in Africa: solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, the electric two or three-wheeled vehicle industry, climate-smart agricultural technologies, aquaculture and poultry production, sanitation and waste recycling, battery energy storage systems, electricity transmission and distribution, charging infrastructure, and ecosystem conservation and nature-based solutions.

Projections indicate that the energy and electricity sector should generate up to 2 million direct jobs by the end of the current decade (upper limit of forecasts), representing 70% of the total jobs in the five sectors studied.

These jobs should be primarily created in the field of solar energy (1.7 million jobs, or 57% of the total) and in electricity transmission and distribution (197,000 jobs, or 6% of the total). The agriculture and nature sector could create up to 700,000 jobs (25% of the total), with 377,000 jobs (13%) in the climate-smart agricultural technologies subsector, 189,000 (6%) in aquaculture and poultry production, and 117,000 (4%) in ecosystem conservation and nature-based solutions.

Five countries with high potential

The report also provides detailed forecasts for five African countries with the greatest potential in the green economy: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

In these countries, the modeled sectors could generate up to 700,000 jobs by 2030, approximately 22% of the total jobs that could be created across the continent thanks to a low-carbon economy. South Africa leads with between 85,000 (lower limit) and 275,000 (upper limit) new jobs expected, followed by Nigeria (60,000 to 240,000 jobs), Kenya (40,000 to 240,000), Ethiopia (30,000 to 130,000), and the DRC (15,000 to 45,000).

There is a great diversity among the five countries regarding the sectors that could generate new direct jobs within an economic model aimed at producing goods and services sustainably, limiting resource consumption and waste, and reducing waste production.

For example, hydroelectric energy could provide the majority of jobs forecasted for 2030 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (16,000 jobs) and Ethiopia (33,000 jobs). Solar energy would be the largest job creator in South Africa (140,000 jobs) and Kenya (111,000 jobs), while aquaculture and poultry production would generate the largest number of jobs in Nigeria (69,000 jobs).

The report also highlights that 60% of the green jobs that could be created in Africa over the next five years will be for skilled workers (white-collar), which could boost the growth of the middle class on the continent. Of these jobs, 10% will be highly skilled (requiring university degrees), 30% specialized (requiring certifications or vocational training), and 20% administrative. Unskilled jobs, on the other hand, will be more stable and offer opportunities for upward mobility.

To fully capitalize on the opportunities offered by the green economy, African countries will need to mobilize more than $100 billion annually to invest in human resources training and the construction of adequate infrastructure, in addition to adopting "business-friendly" regulatory frameworks aimed at reducing risks for investors and funders.

FSD Africa and Shortlist also recommend that African policymakers promote intersectoral collaboration between governments, the private sector, educational institutions, and investors.

Article source: africanews