Although limiting the use of fossil fuels was not initially taken into consideration by developed countries and large companies where energy demand is quite high, today it is a necessity at the point the world has reached. Today, many countries are making a series of changes in their energy policies in order to develop and popularize renewable energy, which is a good alternative to fossil fuels.
Expansion of renewable energy not only leads to environmental improvement, but also has positive reflections on the macroeconomic indicators of countries. One of these indicators is undoubtedly labor force and employment. When the increase in renewable energy investments is considered in the context of the employment-increasing effect of investments in economic theory, it creates an expectation from the theory that it will increase employment and decrease unemployment rates in the country where it is implemented. According to the study conducted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2023, worldwide renewable energy employment will increase by one million since 2021, from a total of 7.3 million in 2012 to 13.7 million in 2022 has reached.
Although employment figures have increased, it is difficult to say that this increase has spread homogeneously to all countries and regions of the world. According to the same study, approximately 40% of the jobs in this field are concentrated in China. After China, Brazil, European Union (EU) countries, India and the United States of America (USA) are among these countries. Although the increase in employment opportunities and the expansion of business lines in the field of clean energy are important developments, the development of sectors that play a key role in the production of equipment, engineering and related services in this field and the adoption of policies in this field by every country will lead to a homogeneous distribution of the opportunities created by this sector.
Source: IRENA (2023), https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Sep/Renewable-energy-and-jobs-Annual-review-2023
Asst. Prof. Başak Özarslan Doğan
