To meet rising global demand for energy, energy systems around the world must be transformed while climate targets are maintained. These necessary changes are being put at risk by a growing shortage of skilled workers. Geopolitical instability, funding difficulties — particularly in developing countries — regulatory barriers, the absence of forward-looking training and education plans, and the well-founded public sentiment and policies directed against uncontrolled immigration are just a few of the many problems hampering efforts to secure a supply of qualified labour. How, and indeed whether, will the world be able to mobilise the workforce the green transition requires? This is a problem in Latvia too, both because there is no clarity about whether the necessary projects can be delivered and because of shortages of finance and labour; the risks and instability must also be taken into account, as must the haphazard way decisions are taken on these matters. Will workers from Indochina, the Middle East or Africa help us solve these problems? What is the situation in “old Europe”, in Germany for instance?
Europe's ageing buildings are especially vulnerable to the destructive effects of climate change, as homes are increasingly threatened by flooding or at risk of becoming unbearably hot. Adapting the places where Europeans live so that they better withstand rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather will be made harder still by the shortage of suitably qualified and knowledgeable construction workers. Companies are already facing a shortage of skilled labour as they try to introduce low-emission building practices and more sustainable materials. Industry representatives maintain that adaptation to climate change has yet to become a major issue. Researchers warn that a lack of skills and knowledge could jeopardise measures that need to be taken urgently.
In October 2024 Valencia in Spain was struck by devastating floods; hundreds of people died, buildings collapsed, and bridges and roads were destroyed. Climate scientists and researchers did not have to wait long to point to two things: first, the heavy downpours that caused the flooding were considerably more intense because of human-induced climate change. It was also suggested that another factor contributing to the floods had been compliance with environmental requirements, as a result of which dams were demolished in order to implement nature conservation measures.
Secondly, Europe is not yet ready to respond to the consequences of global warming, as shown by inadequate early warning systems and, moreover, the inability of modern infrastructure to cope with extreme flooding.
Buildings are built to protect people, yet for many in Europe adaptation to climate change is still treated as a minor concern, even though its effects are being felt across the continent. The construction industry is no exception. If buildings, bridges or drainage systems in Europe are to become more resilient to the effects of climate change, a suitable workforce will be needed in the construction industry — a sector that already faces a large skills deficit.
“Adaptation to climate change will become an important topic for us as an association, but it is not one today,” note staff in the sustainability advisory department of the German Construction Industry Association. Through its regional branches, the association represents the sector's large and medium-sized companies
Europe needs to step up to protect its cities against climate change
Europe — a continent known for its historic cities and regions — has an old building stock, and roughly a third of it was built before the first energy efficiency policies were introduced in the 1970s. That was a response to the oil crisis of the time. In other words, long before anyone was thinking about adapting to climate change.
The main climate risks for the built environment in Europe are damage to infrastructure and to buildings themselves, as well as risks to human wellbeing arising from the impact of climate change on buildings, according to the European Environment Agency's (EEA) European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) report.
The first European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) identifies 36 climate risks that threaten Europe's energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, financial stability and human health. Many of them have already reached a critical level and could become catastrophic if urgent, targeted measures are not taken. The knowledge brought together in this first assessment of its kind is intended to inform further strategic policymaking.
It is projected that by the end of the twenty-first century, climate change alone will increase the damage caused by extreme weather to homes, commercial or public buildings, transport and energy infrastructure and coastal protection structures by up to tenfold.
This means that both new and existing buildings must be made climate-resilient and more modern in operation. Spatial planning, along with drainage systems, must become more sustainable. Green roofs and façades absorb rainwater, help cool buildings and improve air quality.
The specific measures may differ depending on location. For cities in Western Europe, flooding poses the greater problem, whereas southern regions are more exposed to drought. Northern European cities were built with lower air temperatures in mind and may now have to adapt in order to withstand heatwaves. In north-eastern Europe, by contrast, the problem is inadequate renovation and insulation of housing.
“Discussions have begun in cities about how to adapt to climate change, but it is not happening fast enough to cope with what lies ahead — as we saw, for example, in Valencia,” stress representatives of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA). The CNCA is a global group bringing together cities that work together to deliver climate change adaptation successfully.
Most buildings — from schools through to hospitals and private homes — will have to be built differently, and in addition many existing buildings need to be modernised. That requires a skilled workforce. The need for modernisation will generate an enormous volume of work.
A lack of qualifications could jeopardise adaptation to climate change
There is a great deal of research on jobs in the construction industry and the transition to a climate-friendly economy. A 2018 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) states that by 2030 the green transition will create 6.5 million additional jobs in the construction industry, the highest figure in absolute terms of any sector.
As in other reports, serious attention here is paid to mitigating climate change. Those 6.5 million jobs would be created thanks to efforts to modernise buildings in order to achieve efficiency gains, rather than to make buildings more resilient.
“In recent years many studies have been published examining the impact of climate protection measures on the labour market,” note staff in the structural policy, industry and services policy department of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). “There is far less research on climate change adaptation measures.” So far, these indicate that there will be additional demand for skilled workers, particularly in construction and renovation, as well as in medicine and healthcare.
One such project is that of the researchers Bernardt and Rausch-Berhie, commissioned by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Their model looks only at adaptation measures that can be implemented in the medium term (by 2040) in all German cities, such as green roofs and façades.
The report, published last year, found that if adaptation to climate change proceeded as envisaged, some 70,000 new workers would be needed by 2027 — about a fifth of that workforce would be required in the construction industry.
This figure is small compared with the 6.5 million workers the ILO report says are needed worldwide to deliver the transition to an environmentally friendly economy. Even so, it (70,000) applies to Germany alone, and “we looked at only a certain number of adaptation measures,” note Bernardt and Rausch-Berhie. “To adapt comprehensively to climate change, a great deal more needs to be done.”
To complicate matters further, finding suitable candidates for precisely these jobs is a particularly large obstacle. According to the model developed by the researchers, the average time companies will need to find a new employee in these fields will exceed 90 days in 2040 (the main problem being a lack of skills). The report projects that the greatest shortage of workers will be in “construction planning and supervision, architecture” — 112 days to find a suitable employee.
“A lack of knowledge and skills in the companies of the sectors concerned could jeopardise the implementation of climate change adaptation measures, and small and medium-sized enterprises in particular could face major difficulties,” note Bernardt and Rausch-Berhie.
The impact of climate change adaptation on the construction industry has not yet become an insurmountable problem
Until now, adaptation to climate change in the construction industry has largely been regarded as a matter of workers' health and/or rights.
“The effects of climate change are becoming ever more noticeable in workplaces in Germany,” stress representatives of the German Trade Union Confederation, the DGB. “This applies first and foremost to employees working outdoors, and trade unions are increasingly taking it into account in collective agreements.” For example, the construction industry union IG BAU has agreed a “loss allowance” for roofers, paid as wage compensation when the work cannot be carried out because of heat.
To be continued