Jobs in the renewable energy sector continue to grow, reaching 11.5 million worldwide. This is revealed by the seventh edition of the "Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review" produced by Irena (the International Renewable Energy Agency), which shows that jobs in the sector grew by around half a million in a single year and by 4.2 million since 2012. Leading this small green revolution in the world of green jobs is solar photovoltaic, with around 3.8 million jobs — one third of the total. Moreover, investing $1 million in renewables creates 7.5 jobs (full-time equivalent) compared to 2.6 in the fossil fuels sector.

"The adoption of renewable energy creates jobs and increases local income in both developed and developing energy markets," said Irena Director-General Francesco La Camera in a statement. "While today we see a handful of countries in the lead, every country can harness its own renewable potential, take steps to leverage local capacities for industrial development and train its own workers."

Asia accounts for the highest number of jobs

Asia records the highest number of jobs in the renewables sector, with +63 per cent and 39 per cent of all growth. It is followed by the European Union, with 1.317 million, and Brazil, with 1.158 million. It is worth noting that, after solar photovoltaic, the biofuels sector is driving the rest of the world, with 2.5 million jobs.

Many of these jobs are in the agricultural supply chain, particularly in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, with labour-intensive industrial segments. Other major employers in the renewable energy sector are the hydropower and wind industries, with nearly 2 million and 1.2 million jobs respectively.

The off-grid renewables sector, which is particularly flourishing in Africa, is also creating jobs, driven in particular by solar technology, although precise estimates remain scarce and the absolute numbers are small for now, the report states. "Decentralised renewable energy can also stimulate productive uses in rural areas," Irena writes in a statement. "This job multiplier effect is also seen in agriculture and food processing, healthcare, communications and local trade."

Irena's post-Covid recovery agenda

The agency itself, in its "Post Covid Recovery", suggests that greater deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency and related energy transition measures represent far-sighted investments in the midst of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to an ambitious stimulus programme, up to 5.5 million additional jobs could be created over the next three years, compared with a business-as-usual approach. Such an initiative would also allow the world to remain on track to create the 42 million renewable energy jobs that the agency's Global Renewables Outlook projects for 2050.