More people employed in 'clean' energy companies than fossil fuels for first time
Fri 09 September 2022
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Clean energy now employs more people than the combined fossil fuels industries according to the inaugural edition of the World Energy Employment Report which report author the International Energy Agency (IEA) says is the first comprehensive inventory of the global energy workforce. Meanwhile, ten per cent of those employed in vehicle manufacturing globally are engaged in making EVs, their components and batteries.
The report says that nearly 40 million people worldwide work in jobs related to clean energy, representing 56% of total energy sector employment. This means that, for the first time ever, clean energy jobs outnumber those involved in producing, transporting, and burning fossil fuels.
The clean energy jobs include those upstream, like building solar panels, and downstream, like operating wind farms, installing energy efficiency upgrades in buildings, and selling electric vehicles.
Most regions have gone past the 50% threshold of total employees in clean energy owing to the substantial growth of new projects coming online. However, the Middle East and Russia are exceptions. Europe and China have the highest proportion of their total energy sector employment in clean energy (see chart below).
Low-carbon power generation, mainly solar and wind now employs 7.8 million people, on par with oil supply. Vehicle manufacturing employment, which stands at 13.6 million globally, already employs 10% of its workforce in the manufacture of EVs, their components and batteries.
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