As a mother of two teenage girls, my mind has turned to what they might do with the path ahead of them. What has caught me off-guard is the sense of sadness that taints my conversations with them and their friends: they wonder about the future of the planet, and as a result, the future of their generation.

Environmental and climate crises can hijack our minds and energy. However, looking to solutions like the green economy, can inspire you. 

It’s a collective call to action: whatever your passion, skill or education, there are opportunities ahead as we embrace a different economic system. 

So, what do we mean by the green economy? The green economy and its jobs are defined by three things: a low carbon footprint, an efficient use of resources and social inclusivity. The latter is especially important for South Africa, still stalked by inequality. 

The transition to the green economy will nullify many jobs but create far more, resulting in a net creation of 25 million jobs globally by 2030, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a United Nations agency that sets international labour standards to advance social and economic justice.

27-year-old Marcelin Barry is a passionate young man who is working for WWF South Africa as a Marine Coastal and Community Monitor in Kleinmond. He started volunteering with WWF in 2017 and because of this, he was perfectly placed when an opportunity for training and work on a local WWF citizen science project was advertised. 

I recently spent time with him walking along the beach in Kleinmond to get a better sense of what his working day looks like. It was encouraging to a see a young person who genuinely cares about the environment and is doing something practical to protect it. 

He is also very clear about the personal gains that come with doing such work.  

“When you work with the environment, so many of your skills improve, including communication skills because you work with so many different people.  Jobs are being created because we need to come up with solutions.” 

He told me, “Young people have a role to play. People leave footprints behind, and the older generation have made mistakes, but they have also started finding solutions and it is up to us as young people to build on those and find new ones. This is ongoing work for our generation.” 

When school-goer Otsile Nkadimeng took his seat on the stage for a “sustainable futures” panel discussion at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in May, the yawning gap between his age and that of the audience was striking. He had been invited to speak at The Gathering Earth edition, an event organised by the Daily Maverick news platform, to find solutions to the country’s energy, environmental and economic crises. 

I was eager to hear what he had to share, and as he began speaking with such clarity and passion, my mind jumped quickly from the headspace of “problems” to that of “solutions”. 

As a young climate activist, Nkadimeng said, to rapturous applause, “This is not just a climate discussion. Solutions will enable our economy with jobs and help fix our fractured political structures. We are currently lacking the leadership for a functional state. We need leaders that will give us a sense of confidence in the future."

Nkadimeng’s words hit home when you consider that he average age of Africa’s inhabitants is 19, yet the average age of its leaders is 63.

He inspires confidence that the next generation has answers to questions that the current crop of leaders battles to answer.

Nasreen Al-Amin is the founder of Surge Africa, a non-profit that advocates for local communities affected by climate change on the continent. She spoke recently at a pan African online gathering called Rise Africa, organised by ICLEI Africa which focuses on sustainable urban development.

She says that information, data and campaigns are often targeted at people already within the green economy, but that it shouldn’t be this way. Environmental and climate issues become more related when conveyed through storytelling and other creative forms.

In light of this, the green economy presents opportunities for artists, teachers, journalists, communication specialists and others who want to work in the humanities and creative fields rather than just science or the environmental sector.

Gwynne Liversage, a WWF intern placed at Sustainable Energy Africa, is getting hands-on experience as an environmental journalist.

She says, “I want to be a part of the global conversation on environmental awareness, especially in the form of storytelling and visual media. I also want to raise awareness about different lives and stories from across the globe with sustainable solutions as the end goal.”

Gwynne’s green job experience illustrates the importance of the humanities in a crisis that is not just for the scientists to solve.

Ingrid Coetzee, a project leader stationed in South Africa at ICLEI Africa, said that in recent times, funders, practitioners and institutions have strengthened investments to tackle climate change and nature-based solutions. 
 
Money is changing hands through transactions and investments in the green economy, and so those involved in commerce and finance are crucial players, proving once again that it is not just in the hands of the scientists and environmentalists. 

Vhonani Mulaudzi, a young zoology graduate from Limpopo, is a case in point.  
 
Currently interning at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), in their Sustainable Wildlife Economies Project, she told me that by working as a WWF intern in economics, she gets to research and influence policy-making that will determine how the wildlife economy is made sustainable.