China emerges as top employer, followed by US and Brazil, but employment in the UK is stagnating
The number of people working in the global renewable energy industry grew by 14% to 6.5 million in 2013, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). However, employment in renewable energy in the UK is stagnating, according to the most recent government data.
The biggest renewable sector employer worldwide is the solar panel industry, which employed 2.27 million people, according to Irena, a body comprising 168 member nations. Biofuels, with 1.45 million, and wind power, with 0.83 million, were the next biggest employers. The largest employer by country is China, with 2.6 million jobs. Two-thirds of these jobs are in solar, in which employment has trebled in two years. Brazil, with 0.89 million jobs, and the US, with 0.63 million, are the next biggest renewable employment nations, with both countries having large biofuel sectors.