An EY-Parthenon study projects that finding the necessary funds could create 10 million jobs worldwide
Nearly 13,000 renewable energy projects are currently in line for financing worldwide, totalling up to a required investment of nearly $2 trillion. A new EY-Parthenon study projects that finding the necessary funds could create 10 million jobs worldwide.
The European Climate Foundation (ECF) commissioned the global strategy consulting firm to provide an overview of investment opportunities in the global renewable energy landscape via a comprehensive study of pipeline projects in 47 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
The findings reveal that 13,000 projects lie in waiting for a cumulative $2 trillion in financing. EY-Parthenon’s study reveals that the countries in focus could reach more than 20% of their emission-cut targets for this decade if this pipeline is cleared which also includes considerable economic benefits.
Renewable energy projects have a vast and versatile supply chain with job opportunities at every stage ranging from direct involvement in building, construction and installation, to mining, manufacturing and transporting the necessary inputs, topped off with a host of engineering, logistics and management roles involved in bringing a project to life.
Taking all these direct and indirect opportunities into account, EY-Parthenon estimates that the “visible project pipeline” across the world right now has the potential to create up to 10 million jobs. Around half are local to the project site, while the other half are peppered across the supply chain and other oversight functions.
Some countries will take the lion’s share of jobs: Greater China, for instance, could benefit from 2 million jobs in a more active renewables supply chain, while the US could generate 1.8 million. Also high in potential are India and Brazil with more than half a million each, and the UK with over 400,000 prospective job opportunities.
Spain, Poland, France and Germany would be the top gainers in the EU, each with a potential addition of between 100,000 and 300,000 new jobs while other moderately job rich areas include Canada, Japan, Russia and Mexico.