Technology Is delivering green jobs all across the world

Despite policy uncertainty, world powers and developing countries alike are investing in green jobs.

It might feel sometimes like the world's transition to green and sustainable technologies is taking forever, but every day we’re treated to new signs of progress.

Recent reports indicate that sustainable transportation and clean energy projects added around 1.5 million brand new jobs in 2014, bringing the total worldwide number to around 7.7 million. This is according to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) annual review from 2015.

As you can see from the IRENA chart above, most of the jobs added in 2014 fall into the solar photovoltaic category, with 2,495 jobs added, but is closely followed by liquid biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel), with 1,788 jobs.

IRENA’s report underscores several trends at work in the larger picture, both positive and negative. We’re obviously talking a net positive here; this uptick in green jobs indicates the success of brand-new markets across the globe, as well as the success of developing economies.

Still, it’s tempered somewhat by a few significant limiting factors, which have held back the growth of the green jobs sector and will likely continue to do so for some time. Among these is the pervasive sense of uncertainty surrounding energy and technology policy in the world’s major economic powers—the US and China being chief among these—as well as a general shortage of skilled and capable workers in the green jobs space. Simply put, these technologies are developing faster than we can train workers to oversee them.

Which Countries Are Leading the Way?

It probably won’t come as a big surprise, but the world’s most populous country, China, is leading the way when it comes to adding new green jobs to the world economy. Here are the top five:

1. China
2. Brazil
3. United States
4. India
5. Germany

Spain and Bangladesh have also emerged as leading voices in the push for more green jobs. But perhaps more importantly, they suggest that these changes are happening regionally, as opposed to previous industrial revolutions, which were largely concentrated around the axes of power—namely, the US and China. To account for this, we can look to ongoing problems such as “energy poverty,” which take a larger toll on developing nations as opposed to world powers. Simply put, necessity is the mother of invention, and green jobs are no different in that regard.

Bringing Green Jobs From The Shadows

In our not-so-distant past, green jobs were considered a very small part of the world economy. It’s become clear that climate denialism and outright deception have held us back from what should have been steady growth over the last few decades. Still, there are significant glimmers of hope across nearly every major industry.

Consider this: even relatively “niche” industries such as pressure washing are now seeding innovations that will fuel the global economy with new, green jobs. And, of course, the coming driverless car revolution will not only vastly change our lives when it comes to traveling from Point A to Point B, but it will also create a wide variety of new jobs, keep us safer, and vastly reduce our carbon emissions.

In short, technology is delivering nearly untold opportunities right to our doorstep. Whether it’s waves of new employment in the energy sector, 3D printing technology that will revolutionize the dangerous construction industry, or drone technology that will give us eyes and ears in places where humans can’t—or shouldn’t—go, technology is making our lives safer and more efficient on a nearly daily basis, and adding millions of new jobs in the process.