Global renewable energy jobs hit 12.7m, with China accounting for 42%

Despite the lingering effects of COVID-19 and the global energy crisis, employment in the worldwide renewable energy sector reached 12.7 million last year, with China alone accounting for less than half of the global total, said a recently released report.

Of the 12.7 million worldwide jobs in the renewable energy sector, close to two-thirds are in Asia. China alone accounts for 42 percent of the global total, followed by the European Union and Brazil with 10 percent each, and the United States and India with 7 percent each, according to the Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2022 released by International Renewable Energy Agency.

This reflects the region's strengths in installation markets and equipment manufacturing, it said.

The agency estimates the global solar PV employment at 4.3 million in 2021, up from about 4 million in 2020. It is believed to be the fastest-growing sector, it accounted for more than a third of the total renewable energy workforce last year.

According to the agency, China employed 5.4 million people in renewable energy jobs in 2021, up from 4.7 million in 2020. Of the renewable energy jobs in China, solar PV claims the largest share, with a workforce estimated at almost 2.7 million, up from 2.3 million in 2020.

Global employment in onshore and offshore wind grew to 1.4 million jobs in 2021, up from 1.25 million in 2020. China was in the lead, accounting for 48 percent of the global total, even though the 47 GW added was considerably less than the previous year, according to the report.

China was the largest contributor to hydropower jobs as well, accounting for 37 percent of global employment, even though the pandemic caused delays in completing some projects.

An analyst said clean energy employment has been rapidly growing in recent years within China, supported by its full supply chains and robust policy that enables fast deployment.

Renewable energy has become the principal source of the country's newly added installed generation capacity in recent years, which makes China the top country in wind and solar PV-installed capacity, said Wei Hanyang, a power market analyst at research firm BloombergNEF.

The country's total installed capacity for renewable energy generation rose to 1.1 billion kilowatts during the last 10 years, with generation capacities of hydropower, wind, solar and biomass ranking top in the world, according to the National Energy Administration.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn