From the Climate Reality Project, June 10, 2017

In 2016, jobs in the United States solar industry increased nearly 17 times faster than the rate of the overall economy. This was part of a global trend of jobs growing in renewable energy.

The data shows it: We don’t have to choose between good jobs and the future of our planet. A new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reveals that solar jobs in the US (and around the world) are expanding rapidly.

As of November 2016, the American solar industry employed 260,077 workers – an increase of 24.5 percent from 2015. When you crunch the numbers, that means the solar industry is growing just shy of 17 times faster than the American economy as a whole. That’s incredible progress.

In 2012, renewables employed 5.7 million people worldwide. In 2016, it was up to almost 10 million people!

So in what areas of the industry are these jobs? The lion’s share (241,900) were in solar photovoltaic (PV). According to IRENA, the worldwide growth in solar PV jobs had to do with “declining costs and supportive policy frameworks in several countries around the world [that] led to a record year for solar in 2016.”

In addition to photovoltaic, an additional 13,000 American solar jobs were in solar heating and cooling, and the remaining 5,200 were in concentrated solar power (CSP).

In terms of job function, more than half of all solar jobs in the US were in installation. Another 15 percent were in manufacturing, with 13 percent in project development, 12 percent in sales and distribution, and a final 6 percent in other areas, including research and development.

It’s important to remember: Not only is the solar industry booming – but the jobs pay well, too. As costs for materials continue to drop, solar jobs remain a well-compensated area for blue-collar workers. Bryan Birsic, CEO of Wunder Capital, said, “It seems to be one of the few areas of high-paying, blue-collar jobs – and you don’t have to learn to code.”

Another sign of improvement? The solar labor force is becoming more diverse, with the number of women workers at 28 percent in 2016, up from 19 percent from 2013. This means more women have jobs in solar than in the conventional energy industry, although women in solar still lag behind their representative 47 percent of the US economy.

A Renewable Future

Solar isn’t the only thriving industry in the US economy right now – the wind industry put about 102,500 people to work in 2016. In fact, wind turbine technician is the single fastest growing occupation in the United States. IRENA projects the industry will grow to 147,000 jobs by 2020.

“Saying you’ll bring coal plants back is the past. It’s like saying you’ll bring Blockbuster back, which is the past. Horses and buggies, which is the past. Pagers back, which is the past.”
— Arnold Schwarzenegger, Former Governor of California

Here’s the reality: jobs in dirty energy are on the decline as fuel sources become more scarce and less expensive options become available. But people laid off from the fossil fuel industry can find safer, well-playing jobs in clean energy. And as prices continue to drop, all of us can expect to see more and more jobs in clean energy. That’s good for our economy and for our planet.

Take Action Now

The US president recently announced that the US would begin the process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. We’re disappointed, but more determined than ever. It’s clear that the renewable energy revolution is already underway. Here’s how you can help support both clean energy and the Paris Agreement:

If you live in the US, let the world know that you’re still committed to the Paris Agreement. Join Americans around the country and say “I Am Still In” by taking the pledge to work for a just, clean energy future. Because if the president won’t lead, we will.

No matter where you live, make sure your friends and family know the facts about renewable energy. Download our free Solar Myths e-book and help us spread the truth about the power of solar energy.

SOURCE: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/solar-industry-creating-jobs-nearly-17-times-faster-rest-us-economy?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=general

Mitch McConnell wants to push a disastrous dirty energy bill through Congress – and the vote could happen in a matter of days.

This bill would keep us addicted to fossil fuels and be a disaster for people and the planet.

Locking in dependence on fossil fuels for decades to come would critically undermine efforts to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Passing a bill to accelerate approval of fracked-gas exports and give FERC more authority to rubber-stamp pipeline approvals puts us on a collision course for disaster.

We need to STOP this bill and push for a rapid transition to 100% renewable energy instead.

Demand that Senator Schumer uses his power as the Senate Minority Leader to stop this terrible bill.

ACCESS: https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/senator-schumer-stop?akid=186071.1764041.6iBuVb&rd=1&source=mo.mp&t=13

By Ron Bousso, Reuters, LONDON

Global energy demand continued its sluggish rise last year as growth in Chinese consumption fell to its lowest in nearly two decades, while renewables flourished, BP (BP.L) said in a report on Tuesday.

Slower demand growth helped stall the acceleration of greenhouse gas emissions for a third year to levels not seen since the 1980s, but emissions remained well above targets set out globally under the 2015 Paris accord on climate change.

Coal’s share in the energy mix declined to its lowest since 2004 at around 28 percent, while production of the highly polluting fossil fuel saw its largest ever annual drop at 6.2 percent, BP said.

Global energy demand grew by 1 percent in 2016, a rate similar to those seen in the previous two years but well below the 10-year average of 1.8 percent, the British company said in its benchmark Statistical Review of World Energy.

“This is a third year where we’ve seen weak growth in world energy demand … The new normal is that all of this growth is coming from developing economies,” particularly China and India, BP Chief Economist Spencer Dale told reporters.

China’s energy demand growth in 2015 and 2016, 1.2 and 1.3 percent respectively, although still the strongest in the world, marked its lowest over a two-year period since 1997-98.

While that slowdown resulted from sluggish global economic activity, it also stemmed from greater efficiency in engines and factories, he said.

Among fossil fuels, oil demand grew at the fastest annual rate – 1.6 percent – last year as low crude prices boosted consumption.

Oil production grew by half a percent, or 400,000 barrels per day, the lowest gain since 2009, as energy companies slashed spending.

U.S. shale, or tight, oil production fell dramatically last year but has rebounded strongly in recent months as oil prices rose, a factor the market should get used to, Dale said.

“U.S. tight oil is like a Weeble: It falls off but then it bounces back up again,” Dale said. “Any sense of trying to kill tight oil makes no sense.”

As oil demand growth continues to outstrip production growth, global oil stocks – which have plagued the market since 2014 – will start falling “more materially” in the second half of this year, Dale said.

Gas saw similar growth to oil.

Cheaper and abundant gas supplies in the United States and China’s drive to switch to cleaner feedstock for its power plants led to a 1.7 percent drop in demand for coal, the most pollutant fossil fuel.

“It feels to me like we are seeing a decisive break in coal relative to the past,” Dale said.

RENEWABLES SURGE

Renewables such as solar and wind power were the fastest-growing source of energy, rising by 12 percent and accounting for a third of the overall growth in demand.

Still, renewables provide only 4 percent of the world’s primary energy. China, meanwhile, overtook the United States for the first time as the largest producer of renewable power.

The slowing growth in energy demand, the shift to cleaner fuels and energy efficiency meant carbon emissions grew by 0.1 percent last year, similar to the prior two years, making it the lowest three-year average for emissions growth since 1981-83.

“While welcome, it is not yet clear how much of this break from the past is structural and will persist. We need to keep up our focus and efforts on reducing carbon emissions,” BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-energy-idUSKBN1941S7