Development of 'green talent' essential to help nation meet carbon goals

Work details

Yu Siyang has worked in the carbon industry for almost 10 years. The 37-year-old is a carbon emissions manager in Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei, providing solutions for government departments and companies.

He told Changjiang Daily, a news outlet in Hubei, that he uses a company's carbon emissions data to calculate its carbon footprint in accordance with national standards, and then plans the company's emissions reduction targets and provides trading options with carbon sinks.

He said that the job is complicated and requires sound, professional knowledge because different companies have their own ways of calculating carbon emissions.

"The carbon emissions data include some commercial core data such as consumption of energy and raw materials, and product output. So, many companies have concerns about giving us access to their raw data," he told Changjiang Daily.

According to Yu, when companies are calculating precise emissions data, they can add the value of their carbon assets — which can directly or indirectly affect cash flow — and improve their competitiveness in the low-carbon industry.

Ding Wenqing, executive president of Shanghai Huantan Environmental Protection Technology, said her company switched its focus to the carbon-related industry from the environmental protection sector in 2020.

"We have a permanent recruitment campaign for green talent and have tailored training courses for such people. For example, the carbon emissions managers we hire offer services to help our customers reduce their emissions and pursue greener development," she said.

"Specifically, a carbon emissions manager helps customers control and optimize their emissions reduction costs and avoid market risks by managing and evaluating their emissions data and carbon assets, and also by calculating and analyzing their carbon footprints."