2023 saw the largest ever increase in renewable energy jobs, from 13.7 million in 2022 to 16.2 million, according to the newly released Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review 2024 from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The 18 per cent year-on-year leap reflects the strong growth of renewables generating capacity, together with a continued expansion of equipment manufacturing.
However, a closer look at the report's data shows an uneven global picture. Close to two-thirds of new global solar and wind capacity installed last year were in China.
China leads with an estimated 7.4 million renewable energy jobs, or 46 per cent of the global total. The European Union (EU) was next, with 1.8 million jobs, followed by Brazil with 1.56 million jobs and the United States and India with close to one million jobs each.
The strongest impetus continued to come from the rapidly growing solar photovoltaics (PV) sector, which supported 7.2 million jobs globally. Of these, 4.6 million were in China, the dominant PV manufacturer and installer. Enabled by significant Chinese investments, Southeast Asia has emerged as an important export hub of solar PV, creating jobs in the region.
Liquid biofuels had the second-largest number of jobs, followed by hydropower and wind. Brazil topped the biofuels ranks, accounting for one third of the world's 2.8 million jobs in this sector. Soaring production put Indonesia in second, with a quarter of global biofuels jobs.
Due to a slowdown in deployment, hydropower became an outlier to the overall growth trend, with the number of direct jobs estimated to have shrunk from 2.5 million in 2022 to 2.3 million. Brazil, China, India, Pakistan and Viet Nam were the largest employers in the industry.
In the wind sector, China and Europe remain dominant. As leaders in turbine manufacturing and installations, they contributed 52 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, to the global total of 1.5 million jobs.
Despite immense resource potential, Africa continues to receive only a small share of global renewables investment, which translated into a total of 324,000 renewables jobs in 2023. For regions such as Africa that are in urgent need of reliable and sustainable energy - especially in remote areas - decentralized renewable energy (DRE) solutions (stand-alone systems that are not connected to utility grids) present an opportunity to both plug the access gap and generate jobs. Removing barriers for women to start entrepreneurship initiatives in DRE can stimulate the sector, resulting in improved local economies and energy equity.
Acknowledging the high degree of geographic concentration, Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General, said, "The story of the energy transition and its socio-economic gains should not be about one or two regions. If we are all to fulfil our collective pledge to triple renewable power capacity by 2030, the world must step up its game and support marginalised regions in addressing barriers impeding their transitions progress. Strengthened international collaboration can mobilise increased finance towards policy support and capacity building in countries that are yet to benefit from renewables job creation."
To meet the energy transition's growing demand for diverse skills and talents, policies must support measures in favour of greater workforce diversity and gender equity. Representing 32 per cent of the total renewables workforce, women continue to hold an unequal share, even as the number of jobs keeps rising. It is essential that education and training leads to diverse job opportunities for women, youth, and members of minority and disadvantaged groups.
"Investing in education, skills and training helps reskill all workers from fossil fuel sectors, address gender and other disparities, and prepare the workforce for new clean energy roles," said ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo. "It is essential if we are to equip workers with the knowledge and skills that they need to get decent jobs, and to ensure that the energy transition is a just and sustainable one. A sustainable transition is what the Paris Agreement requires of us and what we committed to achieving when we signed up to the Agreement."
The 11th edition of the Annual Review is part of IRENA's extensive analytical work on the socio-economic impact of a renewables-based energy transition. This edition - the 4th edition developed in collaboration with ILO - underscores the importance of a people and planet centred approach to achieve a just and inclusive transition. It calls for a holistic policy framework that goes beyond the pursuit of technological innovation to rapidly meet the tripling target, at the lowest possible cost, and prioritises local value creation, ensures the creation of decent jobs, and builds on active participation by workers and communities in shaping the energy transition. Building on its expertise on the world of work, the ILO contributed the report's chapter on skills.
About the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
IRENA is the lead intergovernmental agency for the renewables-based energy transition in pursuit of a systemic change across the energy sectors. A global energy agency comprised of 170 countries and the EU, with 14 additional countries in accession, IRENA provides knowledge, technical assistance and capacity building, project and investment facilitation.
The Agency enables international cooperation and partnerships to fight climate change and promote sustainable development, energy access, energy security and resilient economies and societies.
