TWYCCers’ Green Jobs Shared at 2023 LCOY Japan
TWYCC members shared options for green jobs in Taiwan at a hybrid session at 2023 LCOY Japan.
On September 23rd, TWYCC members, Yun-Fang Wu, Renesmee Chen, and Kevin Yang presented “Green Careers for Youth in Taiwan” to international youth participants at a hybrid session at 2023 LCOY Japan, hosted by Climate Youth Japan (CYJ) and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) Tokyo. LCOY, or Local COY, is a series of local youth conferences on climate change that are held around the world before UNFCCC COY. The purpose of LCOY is to boost local youths’ climate actions and create input for international climate conferences such as COY.
All three members currently hold green jobs, and they shared not only their own experiences but also those of other TWYCC members. In the session, they discussed their roles, the main sustainability topics related to their jobs, key personality traits required, and the skills necessary for competence in these positions.
Yun-Fang began by describing her role as an NGO researcher and another TWYCC member’s position as a parliament/legislator assistant. Renesmee then shared her experience as a climate change and sustainability consultant, as well as other types of sustainability consulting with different focuses. Lastly, Kevin discussed his tasks and experiences as a solar energy system designer.
Key Points of the Shared Green Jobs:
NGO Researcher
- Sustainability Topics: Different NGOs focus on various sustainability topics. For Yun-Fang, her work centers on three main topics: net-zero transition, nuclear energy abolition, and carbon footprint transparency.
- Main Tasks: Research and initiatives launch. Research includes various forms, such as fieldwork, literature review, interviews, etc. Initiatives involve capacity building, policy recommendations, lobbying, holding press conferences, etc.
- Preferred Traits: The ability to self-learn, passion for the job, teamwork spirit, and perseverance.
- Required skills or backgrounds: Being able to conduct research, analyze and provide insights from information, communicate with different stakeholders, and multitask.
Parliament / Legislator Assistant
- Sustainability Topics: Any sustainability topics being discussed at the parliament, or new topics to be introduced.
- Main Tasks: For those working for a political party in parliament, tasks include drafting bills, preparing arguments and counterarguments for political party debates, supervising administrative departments, reviewing budgets, etc. The tasks vary for legislator assistants.
- Preferred Traits: Highly sensitive to social issues.
- Required skills or backgrounds: Research, basic knowledge of legal terms.
Consultant
- Sustainability Topics: Varies by consultants and organizations; generally, issues related to sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, governance).
- Main Tasks
- 1. ESG / climate change and sustainability consultants: Provide advisory services for tasks like sustainability reporting, setting decarbonization targets and strategies, incorporating international frameworks or principles for businesses (such as PRI, PSI, PRB, TCFD, etc.), sustainability and ESG ratings, etc.
- 2. Research institution consultant: Collaborate with the government, and write research reports.
- 3. Carbon management consultant: Collect and analyze GHG data, identify emissions reduction opportunities, set reduction targets
- 4. Circular economy consultant: Research, data analysis, designing circular business models and tools.
- Preferred Traits: The ability to self-learn, teamwork spirit
- Required skills or backgrounds: Proficiency in English (reading and writing), research, analysis, effective communication with different stakeholders, and multitasking.
Solar Energy System Designer
- Sustainability Topics: Renewable energy, particularly solar energy
- Sustainability Topics: On-site analysis and measurement, planning, design, calculations, 3D design and rendering, communication with different stakeholders, presentations, and overseeing construction sites.
- Preferred Traits: The ability to self-learn, fearlessness of heights, the sun, and construction sites.
- Required skills or backgrounds: A background in design, engineering, or electricity; effective communication skills, especially in the local language; and presentation skills.
Regardless of the job focus and sustainability topics involved, there are several common requirements for those seeking green jobs: the ability to continuously learn independently and effectively communicate with various stakeholders. Most green jobs mentioned also require research skills, analytical abilities, teamwork, and multitasking capabilities.
Advice for Youth
Regarding the challenges of green jobs, Yun-Fang first shared that working as a parliament/legislator assistant can be quite demanding and energy-consuming, and the salary may not always match the workload. It’s also important to acknowledge that the final outcome of the work may not meet expectations, as issues discussed in parliament often undergo compromises during debates among different parties and stakeholders.
As a consultant, Renesmee shared that one of the key challenges in sustainability consulting is the constantly changing regulations, initiatives, and market dynamics, as this field is still relatively new and evolving in business.
On the flip side, the dynamic nature of sustainability provides opportunities for young people to continually learn and adapt to their green jobs. Kevin also emphasized the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest trends in your relevant industry.
Regarding job hunting, Renesmee encouraged young people to utilize the youth climate network, connect with individuals in green jobs, enroll in job training courses, and demonstrate their passion and determination during job interviews.
At the end of the session, there was a lively Q&A and discussions among the speakers and participants from different countries. International youth participants raised questions to learn more about energy in Taiwan, sparking a lively discussion on the use or abolishment of nuclear energy, the cost of solar panels, and Taiwan’s renewable energy targets. Through the discussion, international youths not only learned about green career choices in Taiwan but also key sustainability issues and trends in Taiwan, which support the growth of green jobs in the country.
If you would like to learn more about green jobs in Taiwan, stay tuned to our Medium blog, as more articles about green jobs will be posted.
Author: Ann WuRelevant TWYCC articles:
- What we did at LCOY Japan in 2022:
- A Summary of TWYCC’s events at COP27 last year:
Stay tuned to our Medium “TWYCC at COP” page for more articles around COP28.
