(21 May 2015) – The number of renewable energy jobs worldwide increased last year by more than a million, an 18% rise to 7.7 million, but dropped in the European Union.
According to the latest available figures, in 2013, there was a drop of 50,000 positions in EU renewables, from 1.25 million to 1.2 million. The drop was particularly pronounced in solar, where more than a third of jobs (35%) were lost, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s Renewable Energy Job Review.
This reflected “a sharp decrease in overall investment as well as adverse policy conditions,” the report said.
Renewable energy investment across the European Union almost ground to a standstill last year, with less than 1% growth, despite a strong global rebound in financing led by China and the United States, according to figures published in March 2015.
Global investment in renewable energies jumped by 17% to €290 billion, the first funding increase for three years, according to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) annual Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report.
Five member states, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, accounted for about 70% of all renewable jobs in the EU, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). (EurActiv)