There is no doubt that the renewable energy industry is booming. Renewable energy sources are seen as the primary and best way to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and other forms of environmental pollution that threaten human health and the world’s ecosystems. For this reason, investment in and deployment of renewable energy has been an area of tremendous growth.
What is less well-known is that renewable energy job creation is an economic engine whose growth far outpaces that of overall economies. According to a recent survey, there are about 7.7 million people employed globally by the renewable energy value chain.
The largest piece of this is the solar photovoltaic industry, which now employs about 2.5 million people, two-thirds of whom are in China. Most people in this industry are employed in so-called downstream jobs such as installing solar energy systems. Liquid biofuels employ close to 2 million people and wind power a little over a million. Solar heating systems provide jobs for three quarters of a million people.
Geographically, China is the largest employer in the renewable energy industry, followed by Brazil, the United States, India, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, France, Bangladesh and Colombia. Overall, renewable energy deployment now generates twice as many jobs, or more, compared to fossil fuel development.
The creation of jobs that pay a good living wage is a fundamental issue facing both developed and developing countries alike. The growth of the renewable energy industry addresses this problem directly while driving down greenhouse gas emissions as well as other forms of ecosystem destruction and natural resource degradation.
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Renewable Energy Now Employs 7.7 Million People Worldwide
Photo, posted May 5, 2011, courtesy of the Centre for Alternative Technology via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.