KPMG will propose educational curriculum for climate awareness at COP29

New Delhi: KPMG will introduce a core education program at the COP29 climate summit for global adoption to raise awareness among children about climate and environmental concerns, said Mike Hayes, climate change and decarbonization leader and global head of renewable energy at the consultant.

In an interview, Mike Hayes said he will present a proposal for the adoption of a climate and environmental awareness curriculum in schools at the United Nations COP29 summit in Azerbaijan in November. He also said that KPMG is working to create better climate awareness in India.

“We are saying that we want climate to become a fundamental educational subject for children from four to 12 years old at least. What I mean by a fundamental education program is that no matter where in the world you go, they will teach you mathematics and they will teach you your local language, and probably another, French, Chinese or whatever. . So, at the moment, sustainability and climate are one of those marginal issues. We want to bring it into the mainstream for two reasons,” he said, adding: “One, the reason has to do with preparing ourselves to develop what we call the skill set for the future. The second is not just about improving capabilities, but about informing people.”

He said the idea is to get younger people to embrace and see climate change and action against climate change as a fundamental part of their existence.

“We were in talks with the COP authorities and they were also interested. We are going to launch a document on this at COP29. It is a KPMG idea for the world. The idea is that we want to build a coalition around this and we need individual countries to get involved. And we are in the early stages of this. The idea is to sign up countries, and we would love to find a country like India I would say we are going to take the lead on this,” Hayes added.

In India, KPMG has been working on capacity building, especially in the energy transition space, with both the government and the private sector, reported Anvesha Thakker, global co-head of climate change and decarbonization at KPMG in India. “First, assess where the skills gaps will be along the value chain, across all technologies and then decide what can be done at all levels – higher education, IDI, etc. to address the skills gap in energy transition,” Thakker said.

The Baku Initiative on Developing Human Health for Climate Resilience will deliver several human development outcomes, including catalyzing investment in education, skills, health and well-being, especially for children and youth, establishing continuity between COPs and improve the environment. literacy through educational standards.

On November 14, deliberations will focus on finance, investment and trade, launching the Climate Finance Action Fund, the second Business, Investment and Philanthropy Platform, and a high-level dialogue on how to catalyze investment for the just transition, including in employment and skills, according to the COP29 presidency action agenda letter.

India’s progress in achieving climate goals

On the progress made by India in achieving climate goals and installing renewable energy capacity, Hayes said growth has been hit amid cost issues and geopolitical tensions, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, but added that the transition is on the right track. He also added that energy companies have slowed progress on the green hydrogen front amid high cost requirements and demand needs.

“The world has set national targets broadly around reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and making interim progress by 2030. So 2030 is the next big day on the horizon. The reality is that we don’t have the technological solutions available today to get to net zero emissions, that’s becoming very clear,” Hayes said.

He noted that companies that have announced net-zero emissions plans are witnessing two scenarios: one, that there are enough technological solutions available to achieve net-zero emissions and that there is a bigger problem at hand, that of cost.

“The cost of these solutions is still too high and has proven to be prohibitive. So one of the things that is starting to happen in the market is that governments are starting to introduce legislation and initiatives to create a much greater demand for security solutions. energy transition. And the idea is that the more demand is created, that will help reduce the cost of these solutions.”