Launch - Zero Pollution Talks: Zero Pollution and the European Year of Skills

The Talks are being launched to foster stakeholder engagement and nurture vibrant exchanges of knowledge with a view to raising awareness and tackling a wide range of issues related to zero pollution. They will bring together a diverse set of stakeholders, including experts and policymakers, for an hour-long, online discussion, with possibilities for participants to interact. The sessions will be recorded to create a zero pollution knowledge base.

The launch event on "Zero Pollution & the European Year of Skills" was held online on 27 June 15:00 – 16:00 CEST. 

Delivering zero pollution and the wider Green Deal transformation needs skilled people. The European Year of Skills 2023 is an opportunity to boost the visibility of ongoing efforts and better map needs. 

The event looked at the progress on developing a core green skills set for the labour market to guide training across the economy with a view to creating a generation of climate, environment, and health-conscious professionals and green economic operators. Moreover, education topic was considered and it was examined how far the green transition and sustainability have become part of the education curriculum. 

More information: 

• Council Recommendation on learning for green transition and sustainable development
• Learning for the green transition and sustainable development | European Education Area
• Green education | European Education Area
• GreenComp The European sustainability competence framework

The keynote speakers were:

• Sophia ERIKSSON WATERSCHOOT (Director for ‘Youth, Education & Erasmus+’ in DG EAC, European Commission)
• Manuela GELENG (Director for ‘Jobs and Skills’ in DG EMPL, European Commission)
• Veronika SAFRANKOVA (Head of Brussels Office, UNEP).

The moderation was shared by Veronica Manfredi (Director for Zero Pollution in DG ENV, European Commission) & Marieke Schouten (Co-chair of the ZPSP, Alderman of the Municipality of Nieuwegein, and member of the Committee of the Regions).

To learn more about the Zero Pollution Talks initiative, click here.

For access to the session recording, click here.