Renewable energy employed 13.7 million people, almost double the number in 2012

The sector of renewable energy represented 13.7 million jobs in 2022, a figure that almost doubles the 7.3 million it had in 2012, according to the report published today by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The tenth edition of this report also reflects an increase in 7.8% compared to 2021, the year in which renewable energies employed 12.7 million people.

In terms of employment by sector, solar photovoltaic energy once again led employment generation in 2022, according to the study, with 4.9 million jobs created, more than a third of the total alternative energy workforce.

Hydropower and biofuels reported similar employment figures to 2021, with around 2.5 million jobs each, followed by wind energy with 1.4 million jobs.

Given these results, the director general of IRENA, Francesco La Camera, described 2022 as “an excellent year” for employment in renewable energy, but recalled that “the creation of millions of additional jobs will require a much faster pace of investment in energy transition technologies.”

In this sense, the report exposes a growing investment in this sector that favors the creation of jobs in more and more countries, although the results show that the so-called “green jobs” are still concentrated in a small group of countries like China, which brings together the 41%Brazil, some nations of the European Union, India or the USA.

The institutions responsible for the report also remember that the quality of jobs is “so important” as its quantity, since the transition to a clean energy future must be “fair and inclusive” for both workers, companies and communities.

“In order to take advantage of the important opportunities to achieve full, productive, freely chosen employment, as well as social inclusion and decent work for all during these complex transitions, specific policies need to be developed and implemented”said the Director General of the ILO, Gilbert Houngbo, in the statement presenting the report.

Along these same lines, the director of IRENA also asked political leaders to “Take advantage of this momentum” to adopt “ambitious policies that promote the necessary systemic change.”

Both agreed that these political frameworks must be “coherent and integrated” and focus on wages, occupational health and safety, and workers’ labor rights, all based on a “effective social dialogue”.

According to the study, other pending issues in the renewables sector are the need to expand education and training in order to increase professional opportunities for youth, minorities and marginalized groups, as well as gender equity.