Clean energy and climate change-related industries will be Australia’s next big employer, according to Atlassian and Boundless Earth co-chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes.
“I’m here to talk to you about climate jobs because I believe climate jobs are Australia’s next big employer,” he said in a keynote speech at the Careers for Net Zero Fair in Melbourne on 26 October, 2023.
Careers for Net Zero is a joint campaign from the Clean Energy Council and Energy Efficiency Council to address the skills shortage jeopardising Australia’s legislated 82 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.
Both organisations believe 200,000 new jobs in renewables are necessary to meet the 2030 target. They say two million positions need to be created to achieve net zero by 2030.
“The green economy is Australia’s golden ticket,” said Cannon-Brookes.
“But the biggest risk is not having enough people in the right places to execute it.
“This is why today’s careers fair is such an important moment.
“It’s going to be a whole-of-economy effort to keep up with what will be the biggest shift in Australia since someone put rocks on a boat and shipped them overseas to be burnt.”