Bloomberg L.P, the Mayor of London and Lets Go Zero 2030 team up to encourage young people to go green

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched this year’s Climate Kick Start - a city-wide schools programme to empower young people to help tackle the climate emergency, loss of wildlife and air pollution.

Working with Bloomberg L.P and Let’s Go Zero 2030, the 2022 programme will focus on encouraging students into green careers to respond to the growing demand for skills in renewable energy, home energy efficiency, green finance and electric transport.

A week of career-focused activities will take place from 7 – 11 November, coinciding with the first week of COP27 in Egypt. Four green careers events will be held in London, as well as drop-in activities at secondary schools for students unable to travel, will give thousands of students an insight into the broad range of green jobs on offer.

Five schools will be awarded £10,000 each to help kick-start or accelerate environmental action and provide students with the practical experience of designing and implementing environmental solutions.

Last year, over 66,000 secondary students from across London took part in the Climate Kick-Start 2021 during the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26). Of the 66,000 students who took part, nearly 40 per cent were from lower income households, and 65 per cent of students were from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, “green jobs and skills are integral to help tackle inequality by providing better paid work, as well as providing the vital skills needed to tackle the climate crisis. I hope that through this programme, young Londoners can see how important these jobs are and choose green careers in the future.”

Jemma Read, global head of corporate philanthropy at Bloomberg LP said, “tackling climate change requires innovative thinking and collaboration across society. Through our work with London’s young people, we know that they have bold ideas to help protect the natural world and are determined to lead sustainable change in their communities.

“We’re proud to build on our partnership with the Mayor of London and Let’s Go Zero 2030 to accelerate creative solutions and inspire the next generation.”

Alex Green, programme manager, Let’s Go Zero 2030 said, “the Let’s Go Zero campaign is delighted to be working again on the Climate Kick-Start with the Mayor of London and Bloomberg. This work provides schools in London with an essential opportunity to engage with environmental action and develop the skills and knowledge they need to progress into a green career”.

Applications are now open for London secondary schools and alternative education providers to apply for one of the five £10,000 Climate Kick-Start prizes or to register for one of the free events.

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