Agenda brought together talents from social projects, NGOs and organizations to discuss career opportunities and essential skills in the energy transition

On Thursday (13/11), during COP30 in Belém (PA), Iberdrola and Neoenergia held the Youth Dialogue on Green Employment Opportunities. The meeting highlighted how the transition to a green economy opens up new career opportunities for young people and the challenges of taking advantage of them. Seven young people from the PerifaConnection and Observatório das Baixadas projects took part in a direct conversation with company executives about professional prospects in this scenario. Observatório das Baixadas is supported by the Neoenergia Institute.

"We are living in an unprecedented moment and the green transition needs the energy, creativity and determination of young people. The opportunities generated by the electrification of the economy and the expansion of technologies such as artificial intelligence can only be seized by them with adequate training and the development of specific skills for this moment.That's why education is the key to the professionals of the future," said Solange Ribeiro, vice-president of Neoenergia, who was at the event.

A study carried out by LinkedIn showed the need to double the number of professionals focused on green jobs by 2050. And Brazil has the potential to occupy this space: data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that the country is fourth in the world in the number of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who neither work nor study.

For Thuane Nascimento, executive director of PerifaConnection, the green jobs agenda is crucial when it comes to the environment and climate. "Opportunities and technologies are coming from sustainability.We are in the territories, thinking about solutions and opening a dialog with people inside companies, in the UN system and in governments, thinking about how to make the connection between people and opportunities," she explains.

This equalization of opportunities is one of the flagships of Kennedy Costa, a resident of Amazonas and manager of the Casaverde project, which is part of the PerifaConnection network.

"The discussion about energy transition cannot be limited to technology or investments. It needs to include people, especially the youth who live on the peripheries and in the territories of the Amazon.Let's build an energy transition that generates decent work, income and a truly sustainable future, because it's shared," argues Kennedy Costa.