Green home construction worker

Retrofitting buildings that already exist to make them more energy-efficient and sustainable and ensuring new buildings meet more stringent low carbon standards are two areas of work requiring many more skilled workers.

According to the World Green Building Council, the building sector has the largest potential for significantly reducing carbon emissions compared to other major emitting sectors, based on a report from the UN’s Environment Program in 2009. Emissions savings from green buildings could be as much as 84 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide by 2040, the UN’s Environment Program estimates.

However, there is still so much work to do — with emissions from the global building sector being the highest ever recorded in 2019. 

There is expected to be a jobs boom in green construction to foster the turnaround. The International Labour Organization predicts 6.5 million sustainable construction jobs by 2030, the second-fastest-growing sector next to green energy.