WORLD-GENERATION MAY/JUNE 2016
15
PERSPECTIVE
Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Renewable energy
jobs continue to rise even as employment in
the broader energy sector falls. More than
8.1 million people worldwide are now
employed by the renewable energy indus-
try – a five percent increase from last year.
“The continued job growth in the
renewable energy sector is significant
because it stands in contrast to trends
across the energy sector,” said IRENA
Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “This
increase is being driven by declining
renewable energy technology costs and
enabling policy frameworks. We expect this
trend to continue as the business case for
renewables strengthens and as countries
move to achieve their climate targets
agreed in Paris.”
The total number of renewable energy
jobs worldwide rose in 2015 while jobs in
the broader energy sector fell. In the
United States for example, renewable ener-
gy jobs increased 6 per cent while employ-
ment in oil and gas decreased 18 per cent.
Likewise in China, renewable energy
employed 3.5 million people, while oil and
gas employed 2.6 million.
As in previous years, enabling policy
frameworks remained a key driver of
employment. National and state auctions in
India and Brazil, tax credits in the United
States and favourable policies in Asia have
all contributed to employment increases.
Countries with the most renewable
energy jobs in 2015 included China, Brazil,
the United States, India, Japan and
Germany. The solar photovoltaic (PV) sec-
tor remains the largest renewable energy
employer worldwide with 2.8 million jobs
(up from 2.5 at last count) with jobs in man-
ufacturing, installation and operations &
maintenance. Liquid biofuels was the sec-
ond largest global employer with 1.7 million
jobs, followed by wind power, which grew 5
per cent to reach 1.1 million global jobs.
“As the ongoing energy transition
accelerates, growth in renewable energy
employment will remain strong,” said Mr.
Amin. “IRENA’s research estimates that
doubling the share of renewable energy in
the global energy mix by 2030 – enough to
meet global climate and development tar-
gets – would result in more than 24 million
jobs worldwide.”
OVERVIEW
•
Solar PV
is the largest renewable
energy employer with 2.8 million jobs
worldwide, an 11 per cent increase from
last count. Employment grew in Japan and
the United States, stabilised in China, and
decreased in the European Union.
• Strong
wind
installation rates in
China, the United States and Germany
drove a 5 per cent increase in global
employment to reach 1.1 million jobs. Wind
employment in the United States alone rose
by 21 per cent.
• Jobs in
liquid biofuels, solar heat-
ing and cooling,
and
large and small
hydropower
decreased due to various fac-
tors including increased mechanisation,
slowing housing markets, the removal of
subsidies and the drop in new installations.
• With more than a third of the global
renewable energy capacity additions in
2015,
China
led employment with 3.5 mil-
lion jobs.
• In the
European Union
, the United
Kingdom, Germany and Denmark were the
global leaders in offshore wind employ-
ment. Overall, job figures in the EU
declined for the fourth year due to weak
economic growth. Jobs fell 3 per cent to
1.17 million in 2014, the last year for which
data is available.
Germany
remains the
highest European Union renewables
employer– employing nearly as many as
France, the United Kingdom, and Italy com-
bined.
• In the
United States
, renewable
energy employment increased 6 per cent
driven by growth in wind and solar. Solar
employment grew 22 per cent – 12 times
faster than job creation in the United States
economy – surpassing jobs in oil and gas.
Employment in wind industry also grew 21
per cent.
•
Japan
experienced impressive gains
in solar PV in recent years, resulting in a 28
per cent increase in employment in 2014.
• In
India
, solar and wind markets
have seen substantial activity, as the ambi-
tious renewable energy targets are translat-
ed into concrete policy frameworks.
•
Africa
has also seen many interest-
ing developments leading to job creation,
including solar and wind development in
Egypt, Morocco, Kenya and South Africa.
• IRENA’s early research indicates that
the renewable energy sector employed larg-
er shares of women than the broader ener-
gy sector.
RENEWABLE JOBS 2016
BYTIM HURST,CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, IRENA
