Apolitical, the global online learning platform and community for public servants, announces that 10 governments have pledged to provide training for officials to develop the skills they need to take urgent action on climate change.
The ministers, mayors and public sector leaders making ambitious pledges to build climate capable governments include representatives of Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the government of the United Arab Emirates, the African Capability Building Foundation, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The governments making pledges were convened by Apolitical following a high level roundtable discussion at COP28 co-hosted by Robyn Scott, Apolitical’s Co-Founder and CEO.
According to Apolitical’s 2023 Global Government Green Skills Survey, 65% of public servants say they have not received any climate training and 73% say they would benefit from it. Public servants are also ahead of their governments: 71% say their governments are not doing enough to address climate change.
Robyn Scott, Co-Founder and CEO, Apolitical, said: “Governments are waking up to the importance of building capability but need strategic partners to rapidly upskill their large workforces at the speed and scale that the climate emergency requires, as they do in other areas. Whether they’re working at national or local level, if public servants at all levels don't rapidly develop essential climate knowledge and skills, they won't be able to deliver on the climate and nature commitments of their governments.”
Providing wide scale climate training to government officials is essential for successful climate action in this decade. Through the pilot of its Government Climate Campus, launched in January with the Bezos Earth Fund as a founding partner, Apolitical has already provided more than 30,000 public servants in the US, Brazil, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates with the knowledge and skills needed to deliver on climate targets.
“Governments have committed to action on climate that will require a complete rewiring of our societies and economies,” said Scott. “By failing to equip the world’s 200 million strong government workforce with the skills and knowledge they need, these institutions are sending millions of people unequipped into the greatest battle of our time — the battle for our planet. These commitments to building climate capable governments mark a critical turning point, as governments at last focus on the importance of skills.”
The diverse list of local and national authorities brought together by Apolitical to pledge to build climate capable governments is as follows:
Government Development and the Future, United Arab Emirates (national government)
Environment and Climate Change Canada (national government)
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Brazil (national government)
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom (national government)
African Capability Building Foundation (multilateral)
Sharjah Government, UAE (state government)
Government of the Western Cape, South Africa (state government)
Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada (city government)
Columbia City Council, USA (city government)
City of Tshwane, South Africa (city government)
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