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According to the latest report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), of the 16.2 million renewable energy jobs worldwide, 7.1 million are held by members of the photovoltaic industry. Brazil ranks fourth among the top 10 largest employers in the solar market.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has recently published the eleventh edition of its report “ Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review ”, in which it notes that Brazil had around 1.57 million jobs in renewable energy in 2023, with more than 264,000 jobs related to the solar market, placing the country fourth in the ranking of the 10 largest solar energy employers, behind only China, the United States and Germany. In 2022, the country had 247,000 jobs in the solar photovoltaic sector.
The report, produced in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), notes that 16.2 million jobs have been created in renewable energy worldwide, of which 7.1 million are in the photovoltaic industry.
By 2023, there will be 7.1 million jobs in the solar PV sector, representing 44% of the total global renewable energy workforce. China dominates with 4.6 million jobs, while the EU is a distant second with 720,000 jobs.
Expansion of installed capacity
In 2023, global solar PV capacity saw record expansion, with additions reaching 347 GW, up 74% from the previous record in 2022, thanks to a sharp drop in panel costs and supportive policies. China accounted for 63% of the new capacity, or 216.9 GW.
The remaining top ten installers (the United States, Germany, Brazil, India, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Australia) added a total of 83.4 GW. China’s position is so dominant that its additions for 2023 far exceed any other country’s cumulative capacity to date.
Solar energy increases its share of employment in renewables
In 2023, renewable energy jobs will reach 16.2 million, up from 13.7 million in 2022. China alone has 7.4 million jobs, or 46% of the world total. The European Union (EU) has 1.8 million jobs, Brazil 1.57 million, and the United States and India just over a million each.
Solar PV technology had a 43% share of global renewable jobs in 2023, up from 35% the previous year:In Brazil, in terms of installed capacity, hydropower remains the country’s largest renewable energy industry, but it is much less dynamic than the solar and wind industries and is not as labour-intensive as the bioenergy sector. Irena’s modelling gives an estimate of 177,300 jobs in the hydropower sector. As in previous years, the biofuels sector was the largest renewables employer, with strong growth in 2023, accounting for around 994,260 jobs. Brazil is the world’s third-largest biodiesel producer, after Indonesia and the United States.
“The story of the energy transition and its socio-economic benefits should not focus on one or two regions. If we are all to meet our collective commitment to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, the world must step up its game and support marginalised regions in removing the barriers that impede progress in their transitions. Strengthening international collaboration can mobilise more funding for policy support and capacity development in countries that have not yet benefited from renewable energy job creation,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera. |
