Global renewable energy capacity continued to surge in 2024, but employment growth in the sector failed to keep pace, according to the newly released Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2025 by the International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Labour Organization. The report highlights a growing gap between clean energy expansion and workforce development, raising concerns about the social sustainability of the global energy transition.
The findings show that global renewable energy employment increased by only 2.3 percent year-on-year, reaching 16.6 million jobs in 2024, despite record-breaking levels of renewable energy deployment worldwide. Analysts attribute the slowdown in job growth to a combination of geopolitical tensions, increasingly automated supply chains, and uneven industrial development across regions.
The report notes that clean energy job creation remains highly concentrated geographically. China continues to dominate the global landscape, accounting for 7.3 million renewable energy jobs, or approximately 44 percent of the global total. This dominance is supported by China’s large-scale, vertically integrated manufacturing ecosystem, which enables rapid and cost-efficient production of renewable energy equipment.
Other major economies trail significantly behind. The European Union maintained around 1.8 million renewable energy jobs, while Brazil recorded 1.4 million. India’s renewable energy workforce grew modestly to 1.3 million, and the United States reached 1.1 million jobs. The disparity underscores a key challenge facing the global energy transition: determining which countries capture the industrial and employment benefits of clean energy innovation.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, stressed that technological success alone is insufficient. He said that while renewable energy deployment is accelerating worldwide, equal attention must be paid to the human and social dimensions of the transition. Governments, he added, must place people at the centre of energy and climate strategies through coherent trade, industrial and skills policies that strengthen domestic supply chains.
By technology, solar photovoltaic energy remained the largest employer within the renewable sector, accounting for 7.3 million jobs in 2024. Asia hosted nearly three-quarters of these positions, with China alone employing 4.2 million workers in solar-related activities. Liquid biofuels followed with 2.6 million jobs, hydropower accounted for 2.3 million, and wind energy supported approximately 1.9 million jobs globally.
However, the report cautions that automation and advanced manufacturing technologies are reshaping labour demand. While these innovations improve productivity and efficiency, they are also dampening employment growth in certain segments of the renewable energy value chain. This shift suggests that the clean energy race is increasingly about technological ownership, system design and operational control, rather than capacity expansion alone.
Beyond employment numbers, the report raises concerns about persistent gaps in inclusion. Women and persons with disabilities remain under-represented across renewable energy industries and regions, despite growing demand for skilled labour. The report describes this as a missed opportunity that could undermine workforce resilience as the energy transition accelerates.
Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, emphasised that a just energy transition must be rooted in dignity, inclusion and equal opportunity. He noted that accessibility for persons with disabilities should be integrated into every stage of policy design, from training systems to workplace environments, rather than treated as an afterthought.
The report argues that inclusive hiring practices, accessible training platforms and equitable workplace design are not only matters of social justice but are also critical to building labour markets capable of sustaining rapid clean energy expansion.
For technology companies, investors and policymakers, the findings carry a clear message. The next phase of clean energy leadership will depend on the ability to integrate digital innovation with workforce development. The report urges stakeholders to invest in reskilling programmes, embed inclusion into product and workplace design, strengthen partnerships with training institutions, and localise value chains to generate high-quality, future-ready jobs.
As countries race to meet global targets to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, the report concludes that the success of the energy transition will ultimately be judged not only by megawatts installed, but by whether it delivers shared economic opportunity and social stability.