In 2013, 6.5 million people were employed in the renewables sector worldwide: USA. Spain. Brazil. Germany. Other EU states. India. Bangladesh. China. © Data: IRENA. All figures on employment in renewable energies except for large-scale hydropower

Renewable energies play a major role in growth and employment. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global employment figures have risen steadily in recent years: Worldwide, 6.5 million people were employed in this sector in 2013 – some 800,000 more than in 2012 (5.7 million). The organisation therefore concluded that renewable energies have advanced from a niche market to a major global employer.

China tops the global ranking. The most people work in the renewables sector in the world’s most populous country - most recently 2.64 million (2013), according to IRENA statistics. Brazil, the USA and India follow in second, third and fourth position. With 371,000 employees, Germany ranked fifth in 2013. When it comes to employment effect, photovoltaics creates the most jobs of all renewables technologies, with 2.27 million people engaged in this sector worldwide in 2013. Liquid biofuels with about 1.45 million jobs and the wind power industry with 834,000 employees rank second and third.

IRENA - Global voice of renewables

Founded in 2009 in Bonn, Germany on the initiative of the then Federal Government, the aim of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is to promote the expansion and sustainable use of renewable energies internationally. Today, IRENA is supported by more than 170 nations worldwide, including 140 member states, with another 32 in the process of joining. This development attests to the growing policy role of the organisation: In international debates, IRENA has also been dubbed the global voice of renewable energies. Its work makes a major contribution to climate and development policy, energy supply security and the market development of renewable energy technologies. The annual IRENA Assembly (to convene next on 16-17 January 2016) has also established itself as one of the main energy minister meetings in the world.

As of 2011, Adnan Amin is the Director-General of the international government organisation - and also attended the international conference, Energy Transition Dialogue – towards a global Energiewende, at the end of March in Berlin. Mr Amin stressed that Germany had long recognised the role of technological innovations as a decisive component of the Energy Transition. With foresight and engagement, Germany has, he said, been able to inspire the innovations and investments needed to make technologies technically commercially viable. Mr Amin has also been invited to the G7 energy ministers meeting on 11 and 12 May 2015 in Hamburg, where among other things he will present a current IRENA study on the contribution of renewables to energy security.