Global New Energy Jobs Growing

'A good news story': Jobs in renewable energy grew in 2020; Despite the global economic slowdown of the pandemic, the renewable energy sector grew in 2020 and is even faring better than the fossil fuel industry. Worldwide, there are 12 million jobs in renewable energy, up from 11.5 million in 2019, says a recent report.

Megan Rowling, October 25, 2021 (Christian Science Monitor)

“The number of jobs in renewable energy worldwide increased in 2020, despite the huge economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the growing industry holding up better than fossil fuels…[The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Labour Organization (ILO) annual report found] there were 12 million jobs in renewable energy and its supply chains last year, a third of them in solar power…That was a rise from 11.5 million jobs in 2019…[But achieving] a fair shift from coal, oil, and gas to solar, wind, bioenergy, and hydropower will require efforts to train workers in new skills and build local supply chains…

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Social protection will also be needed for those who lose jobs in high-carbon activities like coal mining, it added…The report stressed the need to bring more women into renewable energy jobs, though they already hold 32%...compared to 22% in the oil and gas sector…Globally in 2020, the solar photovoltaics sector accounted for about 4 million jobs, biofuels for 2.4 million, hydropower for 2.2 million, and wind energy for 1.25 million…

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Nearly 4 in 10 renewable energy jobs were in China, with Brazil, India, the United States, and European Union states holding the next highest numbers…[I]f governments limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, their most ambitious goal, the renewable energy sector could grow to 38 million jobs by 2030 and 43 million by 2050…That is about double the number that would be created under current climate action plans and pledges, which fall short of meeting the Paris Agreement goals…” click here for more

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