In an annual report on clean energy jobs, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) said there were 12 million renewable energy jobs and its supply chains last year, a third of which were in solar power.

This is an increase from 11.5 million jobs in 2019.

“The year 2020 has demonstrated that even a global pandemic cannot slow the advance of renewable energies,†wrote IRENA Director General Francesco La Camera in a foreword.

The COVID-19 crisis, as well as the challenges of global warming, “reinforce the need for a just and inclusive transition to a clean and reliable energy supply and sustainable, healthy and climate-friendly jobs,” he said. added.

Achieving a just transition from coal, oil and gas to solar, wind, bioenergy and hydropower will require efforts to train workers in new skills and build local supply chains, according to the report.

Social protection will also be needed for those who lose their jobs in high-carbon activities like coal mining, he added.

Lockdowns to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted parts of the renewable energy industry in 2020, he noted, including a slight drop in biofuel employment due to less use. transports.

Off-grid solar lighting sales have also suffered in developing countries, but companies have been able to limit job losses with financial help from governments, the report said.

Martha Newton, ILO deputy director-general for policy, said the continued growth in renewable energy jobs around the world amid the pandemic was “a very encouraging signal.”

But to reap the maximum social and economic benefits from the switch to clean energy, one would have to look beyond the number of jobs, she said when launching the report via video.

“We need an approach to the energy transition conducive to the creation of decent jobs”, that is to say jobs that strengthen equity, security and human dignity, she said. .

WOMEN AT WORK?

The report highlighted the need to bring more women into renewable energy jobs, although they already hold 32% on average, compared to 22% in the oil and gas sector.

Claver Gatete, Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure, said his East African country encourages girls to study engineering, offering them internships in clean energy companies and setting gender goals for the industry. .

Globally, in 2020, the solar PV sector accounted for about 4 million jobs, biofuels 2.4 million, hydropower 2.2 million and wind power 1.25 million, according to the report.

Almost four in ten renewable energy jobs were in China, with Brazil, India, the United States and European Union states having the second highest digits.

Vietnam and Malaysia, which export solar equipment, are other places where clean energy employment is increasing; Indonesia and Colombia, with large agricultural supply chains for biofuels; and Mexico and Russia, where wind power is growing.

In sub-Saharan Africa, solar jobs are growing in countries ranging from Nigeria to Togo to South Africa, the report notes.

The authors estimated that if governments limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, their most ambitious goal, the renewable energy sector could achieve 38 million jobs by 2030 and 43 million by 2050.

This is about double the number that would be created under current climate action plans and commitments, which fall short of meeting Paris Agreement goals, he noted.

Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation which represents 200 million workers in more than 160 countries, said every part of the economy should shift to a greener model to cut emissions to net zero.

This is “good news,” she said, because for every 10 jobs in renewables, 5 to 10 are created in manufacturing supply chains and more in services, transportation and logistics.

If these jobs come with good conditions, a minimum wage and labor rights such as the ability to form unions and bargain collectively, “it’s a matter of development, it’s a matter of community renewal, it is a question of aspirations, â€she said at the launch of the report.