Over 40m jobs may accrue from shift to renewables: IRENA

Renewable energy could employ more than 40 million people by 2050 under the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) climate-safe energy path, according to a report published by the Abu Dhabi-based agency on the occasion of its 10th assembly, that commenced Friday.

Bangladesh officials from the Power Division under the Ministry of Energy, Power and Mineral Resources, as well as private sector players in the burgeoning energy market, are taking part, with the main assembly spread over Saturday and Sunday, according to a press release of the ministry.

IRENA was established to support countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation in the field.

As the world’s foremost repository of knowledge on policy, technology, resources and finance related to renewable energy, it aims to frame the best practices on a profound transformation that even twenty years ago would not have been on the horizon for much of the world, yet today is considered essential or even inevitable.

With 161 member states and 22 additional countries in the accession process and actively engaged, IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.

The IRENA report finds that total energy sector employment can reach 100 million by 2050 - up from around 58 million today- should the international community utilise its full renewable energy potential.

Entitled ‘Measuring the socioeconomics of transition: Focus on jobs’, the report offers detailed insights on how the energy transition will impact employment at both global and regional levels.

The analysis highlights the potential of regional disparities in job creation with job gains in some parts of the world outpacing losses in others.

The identification of policies to balance the impact of the transition while maximising the socioeconomic opportunities is noted as key.

IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera spoke of the importance of the Agency’s work to understand the socioeconomic benefits associated with the energy transition.

“Everybody is talking about a just transition but not many know how to make it happen. We all have to work on this subject to present a clear voice that supports an inclusive transition”, he said.

The report findings were presented at the launch of a new joint platform during the IRENA Assembly.

The Sustainable Energy Jobs Platform brings together a number of development actors in pursuit of an inclusive and just transition for all. The cross-section of international public and private sector organisations involved seek to present and promote an integrated approach to the achievement of sustainable development goals seven and eight, said the IRENA press lease.

Speaking at a panel discussion on the new Sustainable Energy Platform, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation’s (UNIDO) Industrial Development Officer, Rana Ghoneim touched upon the centrality of renewables to sustainable industrial policy noting that renewables are increasingly becoming a focus of the organisation’s work. UNIDO are a platform member together with GGGI, GOGLA, GWNET, ILO, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, SELCO Foundation and Power4All.

In addition to emphasising gender balance, diversity in the workforce, and rural economic development, the platform highlights the need for educational and skill-training policies that keep in mind workers and communities whose livelihoods rely on fossil-fuel based industries in order to facilitate their participation in the new energy economy, said IRENA.