GHG & Climate Change Workforce Needs Assessment Report now available!

Earlier this month, against the backdrop of a busy first week of international climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, GHGMI – in collaboration with Sequence Staffing – released a report detailing the findings of the 2010 GHG & Climate Change Workforce Needs Assessment Survey. (The full report is available here.)

Attracting responses from more than 1,000 global climate change professionals, the 55-question survey’s findings provide invaluable practitioner perspective on a range of important issues including policy implementation and capacity building, workforce development, and the state of GHG accounting.

The report is organized around nine broad findings (summarized below), which are introduced by a detailed participant profile.

1. Climate Change Remains an Emerging Field Where Practitioners Rise Quickly Through the Ranks
2. GHG Training Gets High Marks Overall, But Serious Reservations are Noted
3. U.S. Facilities Ill-prepared for Regulatory Emissions Reporting, While American and International Companies Cite Confidence in Climate Risk Disclosure
4. Climate Change Practitioners Support U.S. Carbon Pricing, Yet are Concerned About Level of Public Understanding on Climate Issues
5. Carbon Management Software Market is Still Embryonic
6. Practitioners Concerned with Peer Competency; Auditors Divided Over Quality of Work
7. Carbon Markets Not Up to Snuff; Auditing Needs Enhanced Governance
8. GHG Personnel Fail to Meet Current Market Requirements; Competency Concerns Loom with Expansion of Climate Programs
9. Climate Employers and Job Seekers Cite Challenges in Demonstrating and Assessing Carbon Competency, See Professional Certification as a Fix

For the second year, this comprehensive survey captures the “boots-on-the ground” view of the practice of GHG measurement and management. At GHGMI we view this report as a unique glimpse into the often-overlooked human resource dimension of climate policy implementation. We are proud to present this survey’s findings and look forward to the opportunity to continue to support the development of the social infrastructure necessary for the industry’s professionalization – a need that is sorely stressed in numerous survey findings.