20111231-IRENA-Renewable_Energy_Jobs_Status,_Prospects_amp_Policies_32页_1mb

IRENA authored this working paper to analyze renewable energy job creation, covering grid-connected electricity and biofuels. Key points include:

1. Job Characterization:

• Fuel-Free Technologies: High employment in installation, manufacturing, and admin. Solar PV and wind lead.
• Fuel-Based Technologies: High employment in feedstock production (e.g., agriculture for biofuels).

2. Job Distribution and Skills:

• Jobs span direct, indirect, and value chain stages.
• High-skilled jobs (82% university-educated) dominate; unskilled jobs exist in construction and agriculture.
• Skills vary: technical for engineers, vocational for installers.

3. Current Employment Estimates (2010):

• Global: ~3.5 million jobs (e.g., 630,000 wind, 350,000 solar PV, 1.5M biofuels).
• Regional Leaders: China, Brazil, Germany, India, U.S.
• Technology Leader: Biofuels contribute most jobs.

4. Future Job Potential:

• Projections show significant growth by 2030 (up to ~20M gross jobs), depend on deployment rates, policy stability, and industrial policy.
• Renewable deployment can have a net positive impact, mitigating traditional sector job losses.

5. Policy Recommendations:

• Deployment Policies: Stable, long-term policies (e.g., feed-in tariffs) to encourage investment and avoid negative impacts of policy inconsistency.
• Labour Market Policies: Address skill gaps through education/training, promote workforce mobility, ensure job matching services, target high-unemployment areas.
• Industrial Policy: Encourage local manufacturing to capture value and boost jobs; support R&D, technology transfer, and incentives for local content.