Renewable sources and employment: solar photovoltaic in Southeast Asia stands out

Employment in renewable energy continues to grow prosperous: according to data from the report published by IRENA, the international renewable energy agency, jobs in this sector in 2021 reached 12.7 million workers globally. As many as 700,000 new resources employed compared to before, despite the effects of covid and the crisis of the last two years.

Market dynamics seem to be the most important factors influencing job creation in the renewable energy sector, together with labour and other costs.

Francesco La Camera, Managing Director of IRENA, said: "Faced with numerous challenges, jobs in renewable energy remain resilient and have proven to be a reliable driver for job creation. My advice to governments around the world is to pursue industrial policies that encourage the expansion of decent jobs in renewable energy at home. Stimulating a domestic value chain will not only create business opportunities and new jobs for people and local communities. It also strengthens the reliability of the supply chain and contributes to greater energy security in general".

And it must be said that many countries are following the advice of Director La Camera.

First of all those in South-East Asia, where many areas are becoming important centers of production of photovoltaic solar energy and biofuels: almost two thirds of the jobs in renewables, in fact, are in Asia, China alone accounts for 42%. China is also the main manufacturer and installer of photovoltaic solar panels, which has long been focusing heavily in the field of offshore wind.

A more modest 10% is represented by the European Union, which is responsible for about 40% of global wind power production and is trying to rebuild a manufacturing industry for solar photovoltaic, and from Brazil, which stands out mainly in the field of biofuels but that gradually is trying to increase also the activities for wind and solar photovoltaic.

Then follow the United States and India, with a percentage of employment in the field of renewable energy equal to 7% for both countries.

Solar energy is the segment of renewable energy that has grown more working speaking: in 2021 the photovoltaic industry employed 4.3 million people, equal to a third of all those active worldwide in the renewable energy sector.

Employment and renewables: improving quality of work and inclusiveness

A key aspect of employment in the renewable energy sector is the increasing focus on the quality of jobs and working conditions. And also gender equality, because the proportion of women employed in this field is also growing considerably.

Among renewable energy, solar photovoltaics is the sector that globally engages more workers, both in terms of the total number of resources and for gender equality.

40% of these are women, a percentage that represents almost double those working in the field of wind (21%) and in the field of gas and oil (22%).

A clear signal that, in addition to economic and energy objectives, the world is moving in the right direction also with regard to employment policies that guarantee internal value and equal opportunities.