Global employment in renewable energy reaches 13.7 million –ILO – The Sun Nigeria

Worldwide Employment in Renewable Energy Reaches 13.7 Million

Introduction

By Bimbola Oyesola

Worldwide employment in renewable energy reached 13.7 million in 2022, an increase of one million since 2021 and up from a total of 7.3 million in 2012, says a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2023

The tenth edition of Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2023 is the product of a continuing collaboration between the two agencies.

Increasing Investment and Job Creation

The report found that renewable energy is attracting increasing investment, leading to job creation in a growing number of countries. However, as in previous years, most of the jobs are concentrated in a few states, notably China, which accounts for 41 per cent of the global total.

Brazil, European Union (EU) countries, India, and the United States of America (USA) were among the others. Together they represent the majority of global capacity installations and play key roles in the manufacturing of equipment, engineering, and associated services.

Largest Employers in Renewable Energy

• Solar photovoltaics (PV) was once again the largest employer in 2022, creating 4.9 million jobs, more than a third of the total workforce in the renewable energy sector.
• Hydropower and biofuels had similar numbers of jobs as in 2021, around 2.5 million each.
• Wind power had 1.4 million jobs.

Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General, observed that, “2022 was another outstanding year for renewable energy jobs, amid multiplying challenges. Creating many more millions of jobs will require a much faster pace of investments in energy transition technologies.”

The ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, also said, “To seize the significant opportunities to attain full, productive and freely chosen employment, social inclusion and decent work for all during these complex transitions, there is a need to develop and implement specific policies for inclusive macroeconomic growth, sustainable enterprises, skills development, other active labour market interventions, social protection, occupational safety and health and other rights at work, and find new solutions through social dialogue.”

Quality of Jobs and Social Justice

The report emphasized that the quality of jobs matters as much as their quantity. To advance social justice, the transition to a cleaner energy future needs to be just and inclusive for all; workers, enterprises, and communities.

“Hence, coherent and integrated frameworks are indispensable, with a focus on wages, occupational safety and health, and rights at work, and based on effective social dialogue,” the report added.

Guidelines for a Just Transition

The ILO’s Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all provide a central reference for policy making and actions to support a just transition that governments and other stakeholders can draw upon.

Workforce Development and Diversity

A just and inclusive energy transition must also pursue workforce development and diversity. The report highlights the need to expand education and training and increase career opportunities for youth, minorities, and marginalized groups.

“Greater gender equity is also essential. At the moment, jobs in renewables remain unequally distributed between men and women. Currently, solar technology has the best gender balance compared to other sectors, with 40 per cent of jobs held by women,” the report stated.

Localizing Supply Chains and Global Cooperation

The global body said many countries are showing increased interest in localizing supply chains and creating jobs domestically, with support from appropriate industrial policies.

“This goes hand-in-hand with a growing desire to lessen energy supply insecurities. China has successfully pursued a broad array of these industrial policies for some years. More recently, the EU, India, Japan, South Africa, and the USA have announced initiatives to stimulate domestic manufacturing,” the ILO submitted.

However, countries will need to find ways to combine localization efforts with continued global cooperation in pursuit of an ambitious energy transition.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
   • Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption
   • Indicator 7.2.2: Renewable energy share in the total primary energy supply

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
   • Indicator 8.5.1: Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age, and persons with disabilities
   • Indicator 8.5.2: Unemployment rate, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
   • Indicator 9.2.1: Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita
   • Indicator 9.2.2: Manufacturing employment as a proportion of total employment

4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
   • Indicator 10.4.1: Labour share of GDP, comprising wages and social protection transfers
   • Indicator 10.4.2: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and persons with disabilities

5. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
   • Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning measures into national policies, strategies and planning
   • Indicator 13.2.2: Total greenhouse gas emissions per year

6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
   • Indicator 17.17.1: Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships
   • Indicator 17.17.2: Number of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

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Source: sunnewsonline.com

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