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Overall, 12.7 million green jobs were created in 2020-2021, of which China created 5.4 million jobs, up from 4.7 million the previous year
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In 2020-21, India created 863,000 green jobs, of which 217,000 were in the solar photovoltaic vertical and 414,000 in hydropower. This information has been given in a joint report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Labor Organisation.
In the report titled 'Renewable Energy and Jobs - Annual Review 2022' said, the number of countries participating in the renewable energy market is increasing, but most of the jobs created so far are in a relatively small number of countries.
China, Brazil, the US and the European Union were the other top green job producers during this period. This joint report presents employment figures for several major countries, as well as a few other selected countries, focusing on China, Brazil, India, the United States and members of the European Union.
Overall, 12.7 million green jobs were created in 2020-2021, of which China created 5.4 million jobs, up from 4.7 million the previous year. The joint report states that the bulk of renewable energy employment is in Asian countries, which accounted for 63.6 per cent of these jobs in 2021.
In 2021, solar is the fastest growing sector in terms of jobs in photovoltaics (PV), accounting for more than a third of the total renewable energy workforce. India added 10.3 GW of solar PV capacity in 2021, up from 4.2 GW installed in 2020.
The joint report said the Indian government imposed an import duty of 40 per cent on all modules and 25 per cent on all cells with effect from April 2022, replacing the 15 per cent safeguard duty imposed on PV imports from China and Malaysia. It also introduced a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency modules. It provides financial assistance for project developers who are committed to setting up production facilities along the value chain.
Worldwide, the solar vertical set a new record in 2021, with several countries including India producing 132.8 GW of solar PV capacity installations in 2020 from 125.6 GW in 2020, setting new annual records. In addition, the joint report projects global employment in renewable energy by 2030 under an ambitious energy transition scenario with a front-loaded investment of Rs 139 million.
The report states that the target of 500 GW of non-fossil-fuel energy sources in India by 2030 could create 34 lakh new job opportunities (short or long term) or about one million direct full-time equivalents.