Funders | Climate KIC

Why transversal skills are essential for advancing the climate movement

While technical green skills—such as renewable energy expertise, sustainable design, and carbon accounting—are crucial, they are not enough on their own. Transversal skills—which include leadership, systems thinking, collaboration, and change management—are the driving force behind implementing climate solutions at scale.

Here’s why transversal skills are essential for accelerating the green transition

1. Driving systemic change - breaking down silos

Climate challenges are complex and interconnected. Addressing them requires systems thinking, the ability to understand and navigate the relationships between economic, social, and environmental factors. Leaders with strong transversal skills can break down silos, identify leverage points for change, and develop holistic solutions that benefit both businesses and communities.

2. Transforming policy and business strategy - embedding sustainability in decision-making

Even the most advanced climate technologies and sustainable practices will not be widely adopted without persuasive leadership and effective communication. Decision-makers in both government and business need transversal skills to integrate sustainability into policy frameworks, corporate strategies, and financial models. Leaders who can advocate for change, influence stakeholders, and embed sustainability into decision-making will be instrumental in accelerating the green transition.

3. Facilitating cross-sector collaboration - Bringing policymakers, businesses, and communities together

The climate crisis is not an issue that any one organisation, industry, or government can solve alone. Collaboration between policymakers, businesses, scientists, and local communities is key. Transversal skills—such as negotiation, stakeholder engagement, and cross-cultural communication—enable professionals to build partnerships, align diverse interests, and drive collective action.

4. Overcoming resistance to change - Managing climate transitions effectively

Transitioning to a green economy often involves disrupting traditional ways of working, which can be met with resistance. Change management skills help leaders anticipate challenges, address concerns, and guide organisations and communities through the transition effectively. Whether it’s securing executive buy-in for net-zero strategies or supporting workers through industry shifts, transversal skills make change more manageable and inclusive.

5. Empowering local and grassroots action - Ensuring equitable, community-driven climate solutions

The potential impact of your funding

The work of the Climate KIC Academy is only possible with funding support. With your support, the Climate KIC Academy can

Close critical skills gap in leadership and transversal skills

Only 1 in 8 workers possess the necessary green skills to support the transition to a sustainable economy. Climate KIC Academy provides training that combines technical expertise with essential leadership and systems-thinking abilities, ensuring climate solutions move from theory to implementation.

Create high-impact, scalable solutions

Our programmes equip professionals, policymakers, and grassroots advocates with the tools to drive systemic change. Investing in Climate KIC Academy helps us expand our curriculum, increase accessibility, and build a global network of climate leaders.

Unlock economic and social opportunities

Your funding contributes to workforce readiness, industry transformation, and cross-sector collaboration. By supporting Climate KIC Academy, you are helping to prepare individuals to implement solutions that benefit businesses, communities, and the planet.

What partners are saying

For the Department of Sustainability of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, whose functions include the organization, coordination, and development of the main actions of the Gipuzkoa Strategy to fight Climate Change, consolidating an active and stable communication relationship with the public is vital. In this sense, the social activation laboratories are the perfect framework for developing this social dialogue, and having CLIMATE KIC, as an expert agent with a transnational vision, is an opportunity to continue making firm progress in the rollout of our Strategy at the regional level. Mónica Pedreira General Director of Ecological Transition – Department of Sustainability

The intensive work carried out with the CLIMATE KIC team during the second half of 2024, analyzing and diagnosing the environmental, energy, and climate change situation in the regions of Gipuzkoa, has allowed Naturklima to learn about and utilize the working methodologies of the expert community on climate action. This closeness in addressing environmental issues and their diagnosis is undoubtedly key to the future deployment of social activation laboratories in Gipuzkoa. Xabier Esteban General Director – Naturklima

The circular economy requires a combination of existing and new knowledge and policy-making skills. This course was created to address that need, and we are very proud of the results of this partnership between the IDB and Climate KIC Dr Matteo Grazzi Senior Specialist Inter-American Development Bank

Participation in the Academy has been not only an honourable opportunity for the city of Rivne but also a valuable tool for rethinking governance approaches in the context of climate challenges. It is essential to emphasise the importance of collective leadership, which is built on the synergy between government, business, civil society, and international partners, as well as the potential to attract grant resources and investments for the implementation of innovative technologies. Artem Hanuschak Deputy Mayor of Rivne

Climate KIC's leadership program empowered me to pursue my passion for sustainability. Their support helped me land a role managing a European project using SDGs for strategic governance. I'm thrilled to be working on something so meaningful Barbora Ansorge Project Manager URBACT - Cities for Sustainability Governance, Magistrát města Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic

How to get involved

Join us in accelerating the transition. Funding opportunities can vary and include

Programme sponsorship

Support specific training cohorts, sector-focused programmes, or research initiatives.

Partnerships collaborations

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Addressing the gap in transversal and leadership skills is a must

The Climate KIC Academy is equipping professionals with the technical expertise and leadership skills needed to accelerate the green transition. While demand for green skills is rising—with the corporate training market set to grow by $60.4 billion by 2028 (Technavio, 2023)—a critical skills gap remains.

Research from Economist Impact, supported by Iberdrola (2023), found that 79% of business leaders recognise green skills as essential, yet only 55% have programmes in place to develop them. Meanwhile, job postings requiring green skills surged by 22.4% in 2023 (LinkedIn Green Skills Report, 2023), with demand outpacing supply. Beyond technical expertise, leadership and transversal skills—such as systems thinking and change management—are often overlooked but essential for systemic transformation.

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Let’s drive change together

Be part of a movement that’s shaping the future of climate leadership. Join us in preparing individuals and organisations to lead the green transition.

Email Marina Gil, Climate KIC Academy Lead with your partnership interest: learning@climate-kic.org

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The green transition needs leaders to help scale progress