Cities must prepare today to benefit from tomorrow’s green workforce
This article first appeared on Business Green. MMC engages in content partnerships with several organizations, and cross-posting does not indicate an endorsement or agreement.
Workforce 2030: Training and upskilling the existing workforce as well as welcoming newcomers – including migrants – will be critical to building sustainable, prosperous economy, writes Mayor of Freetown and C-40 co-chair Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
The green transition is already reshaping the global economy, and cities are at its centre. By 2040, nearly half of all jobs in construction, transport and waste management are expected to be green jobs. This is not some distant horizon; these are the jobs today’s schoolchildren will graduate into. The question is not whether these jobs will exist, but whether we will have enough people with the right skills to fill them.
A new analysis from C40 Cities, the Climate Migration Council and the Mayors Migration Council shows the scale of the challenge. Across 25 cities in seven countries, demand for green labour in construction, transport and waste management could outstrip supply by as many as six million workers by 2040. Left unaddressed, this shortfall risks stalling climate action and leaving up to $280bn in economic development on the table.
For businesses and policymakers, the lesson is simple: the green transition is a workforce transition. The only way we meet our climate commitments while maintaining economic momentum is by preparing people for the jobs of the future. That means a dual strategy: retraining and upskilling existing workers whilst also opening doors for newcomers, including migrants, who are already vital to many urban economies around the world.
Cities are already showing what this approach looks like in practice. In my city Freetown – Sierra Leone’s capital – we created the Waste Management Micro-Enterprise Programme to tackle both unemployment and environmental degradation. With international support, including initiatives like the Global Cities Fund, we helped set up 40 micro-businesses employing 240 young people, many of them rural migrants. They now provide household waste collection to thousands of families, have boosted citywide collection rates by more than a third, and helped close illegal dumpsites. It is a small example of what happens when climate action and inclusive job creation are designed together: cleaner streets, safer and more inclusive communities and a solid, reliable wage. But Freetown is not an exception, as other fellow mayors from the C40-MMC Task Force are taking similar efforts.
The MENTOR program in Milan, part of EU Mobility Partnerships, links the city with projects in Morocco and Tunisia. It creates circular migration opportunities by training workers in their home countries for urban sectors in Italy with labor shortages. This aligns skills with green transition demands and provides economic opportunities, demonstrating how international partnerships can establish regular migration pathways benefiting both sending and receiving communities. The program seeks to reframe migration as an opportunity for multilateral development and growth.
In Amman, the city partnered with Germany’s development agency to rehabilitate green infrastructure through cash-for-work schemes. More than 5,000 residents benefited, half of them Jordanians, the other half Syrian refugees. The projects restored biodiversity, created public parks and strengthened community bonds. Crucially, they demonstrated that inclusion is not a distraction from climate action but a multiplier of its benefits.
São Paulo provides another model. Its Programa Operação Trabalho combines training opportunities for unemployed residents with major municipal investments in electrifying transport and greening waste collection. These policies have helped drive the city’s unemployment rate to its lowest point on record, showing how climate ambition can sit alongside economic success, robust job creation and rising wages.
Taken together, these examples highlight a clear truth: for many cities treating workforce development and migration as separate debates from climate action is no longer possible. They are integral to it. Without skills investment, the transition will stall. Without migrant inclusion, it will fall short both socially and economically. With both, it can power a fairer, faster and more resilient transformation.
Cities are ready to act, but we cannot carry the burden alone. National governments need to partner with us by aligning migration policies with labour demand, funding vocational and technical training, and ensuring climate finance reaches local projects that directly create jobs. Businesses must step up too, by investing in apprenticeships, supporting skills pipelines, and recognising the enormous value of migrant workers to their own resilience.
In Freetown, I often hear from young people who want jobs that give them dignity and a stake in the future. For many, good green jobs offer exactly that, as well as an opportunity to stay living in their own community, tackling the brain drain that affects so many countries in the Global South. But only if we act now to equip all our people – whether long-term residents, newcomers and migrants – to seize them.
The green transition is not simply about cleaner energy or smarter transport systems. It is about people. Training today’s workforce and welcoming newcomers are not optional extras; they are the foundation of a future economy that is sustainable, inclusive and prosperous. Cities are already leading the way. The challenge for national leaders and businesses is whether they will join us in investing in the one resource we cannot afford to waste: human potential.
