Energy
The Clean Energy Employment Shift, by 2030
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The Clean Energy Employment Shift, by 2030
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With many countries and companies pledged to reduce emissions, the clean energy transition seems to be an inevitability. And that transition will undoubtedly have an impact on employment.
New sources of power don’t just require new and updated equipment, they also require people to operate them. And as demand for cleaner fuels shifts attention away from fossil fuels, it’s likely that not every sector will see a net gain of employment.
This graphic shows projected global employment growth in the clean energy sector and related areas, under announced climate pledges as of 2021, as tracked by the IEA’s World Energy Outlook.
Which Sectors Will Gain Jobs By 2030?
In total, the clean energy transition is expected to generate 10.3 million net new jobs around the world by 2030.
Though fuel generation will definitely be affected by the clean energy transition, the biggest impact will be felt in modernizing energy infrastructure:
Clean Energy Jobs By Sector (to 2030) | Jobs Gained | Jobs Lost | Net Job Shift |
---|---|---|---|
Efficiency | 3.2M | 0 | 3.2M |
Cars | 2.6M | 0 | 2.6M |
Power generation | 2.6M | -0.3M | 2.3M |
Grids | 1.6M | 0 | 1.6M |
Bioenergy | 1.2M | 0 | 1.2M |
End-use renewables | 1M | 0 | 1M |
Innovative technologies | 0.9M | 0 | 0.9M |
Critical minerals | 0.2M | 0 | 0.2M |
Coal | 0 | -0.6M | -0.6M |
Oil and gas | 0 | -2.1M | -2.1M |
Total | 13.3M | -3.0M | 10.3M |
In order to properly utilize the new sources of energy, the largest expected job gains are in electrical efficiency, power generation, and the automotive sector. Combined with modernizing the grid, they make up 75% of the 13.3 million in new job gains expected.
Comparatively, new energy sources like bioenergy, end-use renewables, and supply chain resources like innovative technologies and critical minerals combine for 3.3 million jobs. That offsets the 2.7 million jobs expected to be lost in fossil fuel sectors, plus an additional 0.3 million lost in power generation.
But it’s important to note that these expected employment changes are under announced climate pledges as of 2021. The IEA has calculated that in a full net-zero clean energy transition, the estimated quantity of jobs gained and lost would more than double across almost all sectors, with a net addition of 22.7 million new jobs.
Regardless of which path is closest to the reality, it’s clear the job landscape in energy and related sectors will be shifting in the coming years, and it will be interesting to see how and when such changes materialize.
Energy
The World’s Biggest Oil Producers in 2023
Just three countries accounted for 40% of global oil production last year.
The World’s Biggest Oil Producers in 2023
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Despite efforts to decarbonize the global economy, oil still remains one of the world’s most important resources. It’s also produced by a fairly limited group of countries, which can be a source of economic and political leverage.
This graphic illustrates global crude oil production in 2023, measured in million barrels per day, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Three Countries Account for 40% of Global Oil Production
In 2023, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia collectively contributed 32.7 million barrels per day to global oil production.
Oil Production 2023 | Million barrels per day |
---|---|
🇺🇸 U.S. | 12.9 |
🇷🇺 Russia | 10.1 |
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 9.7 |
🇨🇦 Canada | 4.6 |
🇮🇶 Iraq | 4.3 |
🇨🇳 China | 4.2 |
🇮🇷 Iran | 3.6 |
🇧🇷 Brazil | 3.4 |
🇦🇪 UAE | 3.4 |
🇰🇼 Kuwait | 2.7 |
🌍 Other | 22.8 |
These three nations have consistently dominated oil production since 1971. The leading position, however, has alternated among them over the past five decades.
In contrast, the combined production of the next three largest producers—Canada, Iraq, and China—reached 13.1 million barrels per day in 2023, just surpassing the production of the United States alone.
In the near term, no country is likely to surpass the record production achieved by the U.S. in 2023, as no other producer has ever reached a daily capacity of 13.0 million barrels. Recently, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Saudi Aramco scrapped plans to increase production capacity to 13.0 million barrels per day by 2027.
In 2024, analysts forecast that the U.S. will maintain its position as the top oil producer. In fact, according to Macquarie Group, U.S. oil production is expected to achieve a record pace of about 14 million barrels per day by the end of the year.
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