Research and analysis into the benefits of renewables

The environmental advantages of renewable energy, including lower carbon emissions and reduced air pollution have been widely known for decades. Its numerous socio-economic benefits, however, have only become apparent in recent decades as the deployment of renewable energy technologies has become more widespread.

Employment

Renewable energy provides a significant - and growing - number of jobs worldwide each year. The renewable energy sector, according to IRENA’s estimates, employed a record 10.3 million people worldwide in 2017, driven by rising investments. This, in turn, was the result of rapidly falling costs, technological improvements and government policies to support renewables.

Health

Wind, solar and hydropower produce little or no air pollution. Other renewable energy technologies, such as biomass and geothermal, do emit air pollutants, but at much lower rates than most conventional fuels. Air pollution has become a critically important issue in many developing countries, where up to 2.9 billion people still rely on wood, coal and charcoal for cooking and heating homes. Cleaner options, including biomass and solar technologies, can play a role in this regard.

Resilience

Some renewable energy technologies are deployed in a distributed, modular fashion, making them less prone to large-scale failure. This brings advantages during severe weather events or complex emergencies, as such technologies can be rolled out quickly wherever needed, getting electricity to people without complex and time-consuming infrastructure development.

Access to energy

Over one billion people lack access to electricity, while a further one billion have an unreliable supply. Improved reliability, rapidly falling technology costs and supportive policies have made stand-alone and mini-grid renewable electricity solutions viable for the 80% of those without access in rural areas or small developing island states. One of the most compelling arguments for off-grid solutions is that they are decentralised, and because project development activities occur locally, job creation is also localised.

Job Creation

Macroeconomic Benefits

Local Value Creation

Renewable Energy Benefits: Leveraging Local Capacity for Solar PV

Renewable energy development can drive economic growth, create new jobs and enhance human health and welfare at the national level. The Leveraging Local Capacity series examines the kinds of jobs created and suggests ways to build on existing industries.

• June 2017
• |
• Benefits
• |
• English

Recent Publications

Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2020

IRENA’s annual jobs review confirms long-term growth trend; strong policy action ess...

Reduce: Non-bio renewables

G20 countries can work together to step up renewable energy development and drive an accel...

Measuring the socio-economics of transition: Focus on jobs

Well-crafted deployment, integrating and enabling policies could create millions of new jo...

Post-COVID recovery: An agenda for resilience, development and equality

Energy transition investments in the wake of COVID-19 can pave the way for equit...

More

Related Content

Parliamentarians Discuss Investments in Renewables at IRENA Legislators Forum

01 February 2021 | Articles

FAO and IRENA Join Forces to Boost Renewables in Food and Agriculture

12 January 2021 | Press Releases

Aligning Recovery with Climate Efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean

16 December 2020 | Articles