COP27: IEMA promotes green skills with Ain Shams University

IEMA was represented in the first week of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, with Martin Baxter, IEMA’s deputy CEO and director of external affairs, speaking alongside Professor Ali Hassan and post-graduate student Rania Fawzan, both from Ain Shams University.

The event, held in the Green Zone, was called “’All jobs greener’: career pathways for those in education and in work”. IEMA has produced a broad range of educational products aimed at both people thinking of entering the environment and sustainability profession and for everyone already in the sector, from new graduates through to established leaders.

Martin said:

“There is no end of really important changes that we need to make, and changes to the ways in which our economies and societies are operating, if we’re going to meet the obligations we have which are set out in various treaties including the Paris Agreement.

“For that to happen, people are going to have to do things differently. In particular, people are going to have to do things differently in the world of work as we reconfigure our global energy system away from fossil fuels, largely towards renewables.

“To enable that to happen, we need to ensure we have the skills, resources and capabilities to be able to deliver that.”

IEMA recently welcomed Egypt’s Ain Shams University as a corporate partner. The university is leading the way in the region on promoting pathways into green jobs and skills.

Prof Ali said:

“In 1982, the department I now work in (the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research) was called the Institute of Environmental Studies and Research. We were the first postgraduate institute in Egypt and the whole region with the particular interest in environment and sustainability.

“I’m focusing on the role of tertiary education and looking at how we can build ourselves and change ourselves so we can contribute to the transition [to a sustainable society].”

You can hear from Martin and Prof Ali in the video summaries below:

IEMA is also being represented by its CEO Sarah Mukherjee MBE at an event on Thursday 17th November in the Blue Zone, looking at 'Capacity building on green skills to improve local/regional climate policies'.

Keep up to date on IEMA's involvement in COP27 here.