History

In the spring of 2008, the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute and Sequence Staffing began developing the first in a series of surveys designed to learn more about the needs, limitations, ambitions, and concerns within the emerging greenhouse gas and climate change workforce.

The 2009 Greenhouse Gas & Climate Change Workforce Needs Assessment Survey was created to uncover some of the unique challenges facing this growing and diverse industry, and specifically, to obtain data regarding industry perceptions, growth projections, workforce needs, policy responses, favored/disfavored protocols, human capital needs and training practices, and other key development related to this emerging and important global profession.

Launched in August 2008 for 60 days, the results from over 700 key international professionals, scientists, and organizational leaders throughout public, private and non-profit sectors provided keen insight to the workings of this new profession.

From a geographical perspective, participants responded to the survey from every continent and practically every major nation on the globe. Of these, 20 percent were organizational leaders and some 40 percent were senior level managers. They represented a significant fraction of the professional experts and leaders on climate change from around the world.

Results of the initial survey confirmed for the first time that the workforce and skills shortages that had long been suspected by many of those already working in the GHG and climate change fields were real and quantifiable. Assumptions were now confirmed with detailed findings.

However, the report went beyond assessing a labor shortage; it detailed the breadth and depth of the skills deficiency, the anticipated growth of the industry, and the development of the industry itself as a professionalized occupation. It also touched on the establishment of carbon commodity markets as well as their potential for misuse.

The picture that emerged was both complex and compelling. The results exposed trends and key needs that alerted us to potential challenges facing the industry and served as an outline for predicting the future of this dynamic and emerging field.

To view the 2009 survey results, please click here.