16th August 2022|Company Updates
Renewable energy jobs
According to new calculations, the energy sector employs approximately 18 million people worldwide. It is estimated this figure could rise to 26 million by 2050 provided that a strong climate action is taken. The findings contradict the frequently used reasoning by the supporters of fossil fuels that moving towards more sustainable energy alternatives will decrease the number of jobs available in this industry. Although weaning the energy industry off fossil fuels will result in fewer fossil fuel jobs, new jobs in the renewable energy sector will more than compensate for this.
Provided that all countries meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 2°C, it is estimated that this would result in additional 8 million energy jobs worldwide alone.
Currently, the energy sector employs approximately 12.6 million people in the fossil fuel industry, 4.6 million in the renewable energy, and 0.8 million in the nuclear energy industry worldwide. Out of the 12.6 million jobs in the fossil fuel industry, 10.1 million are in the fossil fuel extraction category meaning the availability of these jobs will sharply decline as further decarbonization efforts are being introduced.
With decarbonization, renewables would account for 84% of total energy jobs in 2050, with fossil fuels accounting for 11% and nuclear accounting for 5%. Globally, fossil fuel jobs may decline from 12.6 million to 3.1 million, while renewable jobs may increase from 4.6 million to a whopping 22 million.
In majority of the countries worldwide, the number of new renewables jobs exceeds the number of lost fossil-fuel jobs. However, decarbonization may result in a net loss of energy system jobs in China and some fossil-fuel exporting countries such as Mexico, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola. On a positive note, manufacturing and installation of solar and wind infrastructure account for more than one-third, or 7.7 million, of the new renewable energy jobs for these countries. These jobs aren’t tied to a specific location like, say, working a coal seam. As a result, countries may compete for what the researchers refer to as a “global pool” of renewables manufacturing jobs.
If you are interested in advancing your career further in the energy sector, please send us your CV to enquiries@mac-projects.com, and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible. Alternatively, check out the jobs we have available at the moment on this link.
References
DeWeerdth, S. (2021). Council.Science. Employment in the energy sector. Retrieved from: https://council.science/current/blog/employment-in-the-energy-sector-will-dramatically-expand-as-economies-decarbonize/
