The global clean energy sector is only getting stronger and is showing that it is here to stay. After a whopping 500,000 new jobs created last year, the industry now boasts over 10 million employed.
A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows that clean energy isn’t just good for the environment, it’s also good for economies. Forbes reports:
“ Renewable energy has become a pillar of low-carbon economic growth for governments all over the world, a fact reflected by the growing number of jobs created in the sector,” said Adnan Z. Amin, director-general of IRENA.
“The data also underscores an increasingly regionalised picture, highlighting that in countries where attractive policies exist, the economic, social and environmental benefits of renewable energy are most evident,” he continued. “Fundamentally, this data supports our analysis that decarbonisation of the global energy system can grow the global economy and create up to 28 million jobs in the sector by 2050.”
Right now the creation of jobs is pretty concentrated. Six countries (China, Brazil, India, Germany, Japan and the United States) hold 70 percent of these jobs while 60 percent overall are in Asia. Unfortunately for the United States, Trump is in charge and somehow clean energy has become a partisan issue. It’ll be interesting to see if or how the US is left behind as Trump pretends to cater to coal workers.
This report aims to show world leaders (like Trump) that closing down coal plants isn’t an attack on jobs. Moving to renewable energy actually can create an economic boom—but it needs the help of lawmakers to make informed, calculated decisions to ease the transition.
By providing policy makers with this level of detail about the composition of renewable energy employment and skills requirements, countries can make informed decisions on several important national objectives, from education and training, to industrial policies and labour market regulations,” said Dr Rabia Ferroukhi, Head of IRENA’s Policy Unit and Deputy Director of Knowledge, Policy and Finance.