KPMG to propose educational curriculum for climate awareness at COP29

New Delhi: KPMG will come up with a foundation education programme at the COP29 climate summit for adoption globally to make children aware of climate and environmental concerns, said Mike Hayes, climate change and decarbonization leader and global head of renewable energy at the consultancy major.

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

“We're saying that we want climate to become a foundational education subject for four to 12-year-olds at a minimum. What I mean by a foundational education program is that no matter where you go in the world, you're going to be taught mathematics and you're going to be taught your local language, and probably one other, French or Chinese or whatever else. So, at the moment, sustainability and climate is one of those fringe subjects. We want to bring it into the mainstream for two reasons," he said, adding that "One, the reason which is very much around getting us ready to build what we call the skill set for the future. The second thing is not just about upskilling, it's about informing people.”

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

“We were in discussion with the COP authorities, and they were interested as well. We're going to launch a paper on this at COP29. It's a KPMG idea for the globe. The whole idea is we want to build a coalition around this and need individual countries to get involved. And we're at the very early stages of this. The whole idea is you sign up countries, and we'd love to find a country like India would say we're going to take the lead on this,” Hayes added.

In India, KPMG has been working on skilling, especially in the energy transition space with both government and the private sector, informed Anvesha Thakker, global co-lead of climate change & decarbonization at KPMG in India. "First, assessing where the skilling gaps are going to be across the value chain, across all technologies and then deciding what can be done at all levels--higher education, IDIs, etc. to address the skills gap in energy transition,” Thakker said.

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The Baku initiative on human health development for climate resilience will deliver various outcomes on human development, including catalyzing investment in education, skills, health, and well-being, especially for children and youth, establishing COP-to-COP continuity, and enhancing environmental literacy through education standards. 

On the 14 November, deliberations will focus on finance, investment and trade which will launch the Climate Finance Action Fund, the second Business, Investment and Philanthropy Platform, and a high-level dialogue on catalyzing investment for the just transition, including on jobs and skills, as per the COP29 presidency action agenda letter.

India's progress in achieving climate targets

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

"The world has set targets at country levels just generally around reaching net zero by 2050 and by making interim progress by 2030. So 2030 is the next big day on the horizon. The reality is that we do not have the technology solutions available today to get us to net zero. That is becoming very clear," Hayes said.

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He noted corporates which have announced net zero plans are witnessing two scenarios—one, that there are enough technology solutions available for net zero and there is a bigger issue at hand, that of cost.

"The cost of these solutions is still way too high and it's proven prohibitive. So one of the things that's starting to happen in the market is governments are starting to introduce legislation and initiatives to create a much bigger demand for energy transition solutions. And the whole idea is that the more demand you create, that will help bring the cost of these solutions down."