The report, titled ‘Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2017,’ was released at IRENA’s 13th Council meeting taking in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Overall, IRENA reports that jobs in renewables excluding large hydropower increased by 2.8%, to reach 8.3 million in 2016, with China, Brazil, the US, India, Japan and Germany accounting for most of the renewable energy jobs.
The report also points to the continued shift to Asia, with 62% of the global total located in the continent.
24 May 2017: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released a report that indicates that over 9.8 million people were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2016. IRENA projects that the number of people working in the renewables sector could reach 24 million by 2030, more than offsetting fossil-fuel job losses.
The report, titled ‘Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2017,’ was released at IRENA’s 13th Council meeting taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It presents the status of renewable energy employment in 2016 both by technology and in selected countries.
“The energy type employing the largest number of people was solar photovoltaic (PV), with 3.1 million jobs, a 12% increase from 2015.”
The report finds that the number of people employed in renewables around the world in 2016 increased by 1.1% over 2015. This development contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8 (decent work and economic growth), 7 (affordable and clean energy), in particular target 7.2 (By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix), and 13 (climate action).
The energy type employing the largest number of people was solar photovoltaic (PV), with 3.1 million jobs, a 12% increase from 2015. According to IRENA, the growth came mainly from China, the US and India, while jobs decreased in Japan and the EU.
The report provides the breakdown of the number of jobs in the other sectors, including: 1.2 million jobs for wind power; 1.7 million jobs for liquid biofuels; 0.7 million jobs for solid biomass; 0.3 million jobs for biogas; and 1.5 million jobs for large hydropower.
Overall, IRENA reports that jobs in renewables excluding large hydropower increased by 2.8%, to reach 8.3 million in 2016, with China, Brazil, the US, India, Japan and Germany accounting for most of the renewable energy jobs. The report also points to the continued shift to Asia, with 62% of the global total located in the continent.
The report further includes findings from a workplace survey in the Middle East and North Africa on barriers to women in clean energy labor markets, which was conducted by IRENA with the Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The survey found that gender discrimination seems less pronounced in renewable energy employment than in the energy sector at large. However, IRENA points to remaining challenges for women in regard to employment and promotion. These findings are relevant to achieving SDG 5 (gender equality).
1 March 2017: During the month of February, EU countries made significant investments in energy infrastructure, solar power got a boost in Asia and Africa, while projects assessed the environmental impact of hydropower and wind energy. Various energy efficiency programmes sought to reduce demand for energy overall.
Europe Invests in its Energy Infrastructure
The EU recently made significant investments in their energy infrastructure. EU member States agreed to a package of energy measures totaling €444 million from the Connecting Europe Facility, the EU’s funding support programme for infrastructure. Among the 18 projects selected, seven are in the electricity sector and will receive EU support of €176 million, and one project is for a smart grid, receiving €40 million. Five projects were earmarked with €350 million in financing for construction and €94 million will go to 13 studies.
Solar Power Gets a Boost in India, Zambia
Two recent investments, in India and Zambia, focused on boosting solar power capacity. India approved financial support for doubling the capacity of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects. The support will help establish at least 50 new solar parks around the country, including in the Himalayan and other rural states with hilly terrain. The project will be set up by 2019-2020 with Government support of 81 billion Indian Rupies and is expected to abate 55 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year over its life cycle.
Zambia signed agreements with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank’s Scaling Solar program, which helps developing countries procure privately-financed solar power at a low cost. This is Zambia’s second engagement with the program, after the first engagement led to auctions for two solar PV plants that attracted several renewable energy developers. Those developers who won in the auction are concluding their agreements with Zambian Government agencies, which are expected to be finalized in May 2017. The World Bank Group’s Board approved a financing and guarantee package for one of the two winning bidders and will review the same for the second winner in the coming weeks.
Hydropower in the Spotlight in West Africa and South East Asia
Hydropower is the focus of recent investment to reform São Tomé and Príncipe’s energy sector in the Power Sector Recovery Project. Reforms include rehabilitating and expanding the Contador Hydroelectric project and strengthening the national utility Empresa de Agua e Electricidade de São Tomé e Príncipe (EMAE) over a five year programme on the energy sector. The World Bank will contribute US$16 million and the European Investment Bank (EIB) will contribute US$13 million to the project.
Finance supporting sustainable energy planning in Myanmar will help develop hydropower for the future of the country’s energy sector. With support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), recent workshops brought together over 350 people from civil society, the private sector and government to discuss environmental and social values related to hydropower as part of a strategic environmental and social assessment. The assessment is expected to be used as a planning tool to improve the sustainability of the hydropower sector.
‘’For the first time in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North African regions, a study will examine efforts to minimize the effects of wind power on biodiversity.’’
Wind Energy’s Biodiversity Impact Assessed
Like hydropower, wind energy also comes with some environmental impacts that need to be assessed to ensure the sustainability of projects. For the first time in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North African regions, a study will examine efforts to minimize the effects of wind power on biodiversity. The IFC-supported research hopes to help wind farms in Jordan comply with international best practices related to biodiversity, and encourage investment in sustainable energy.
Waste-to-energy projects Get a Boost in China, Benin
In China, through an public-private partnership (PPP) agreement between the Asian Development Bank (ADB), ten commercial banks and the Dynagreen Environmental Protection Group. The funds will help provide small and medium-sized cities in China with advanced waste-to-energy technologies. Such partnerships are central to SDG 17.16 (multi-stakeholder partnerships)
In Benin, a project aims to improve short and long-term picture of the energy sector. Supported by the Global Environment Facility – Least Developed Countries Fund (GEF-LDCF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the project aims plans to build four biomass gasifier installations to transform agricultural residues (biomass) into energy, while also supporting long-term planning that takes into account changes to the agricultural sector.
In developments related to other sources of renewable energies, the World Bank approved a US$49 million grant that aims to facilitate investment in upstream geothermal power generation in Indonesia.
Boosting Buildings’ and Cities’ Energy Efficiency in Europe, Central Asia
energy efficiency-related investments are in buildings, and in February, various projects aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of buildings were approved in Europe, Central Asia and Mongolia.
In Kazakhstan, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the installation of heat meters in residential buildings with a USD 27 million loan. The project aims to promote efficient use of energy in the extreme temperatures of Kazakhstan. As featured by the GEF, schools in Kazakhstan are already improving their energy efficiency and innovating on new green ideas, such as underground greenhouses.
Focusing on commercial properties, the IFC extended a €50 million long-term loan to Grivalia Properties, a leading real estate investment company in Greece, in help support energy efficiency in the commercial property sector. The investment aims to enable renovations and other improvements in Grivalia’s commercial properties across Greece.
The IFC is also supporting energy efficiency in buildings in Mongolia through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop mandatory regulations and voluntary policies to encourage green buildings. The project aims to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in one of the most urbanized countries in Asia, many of which rely on inefficient household stoves or coal-based heating systems contributing to poor air quality in the winter.
EBRD is involved in a uniquely structured project to help promote energy efficiency in Latvia. EBRD will provide a €4 million loan to the Latvian Baltic Energy Efficiency Facility (LABEEF) and Funding for the Future will invest €1 million to become a shareholder in the company. In turn, LABEEF will provide long-term financing to energy service companies for energy efficiency in residential and public buildings. This arrangement aims to help overcome the shortage of long-term financing available for energy efficiency in Latvia. In is more usual funding model, EBRD is providing a €30 million grant to the next phase of the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedona, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia.
Streetlights are a key intervention for energy efficiency in several new initiatives and contribute to SDG 11.6 (reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities). In ten Ukrainian cities, NEFCO will provide a loan for a wide range of measures to improve energy efficiency in daycares and schools. Five cities will replace streetlights with light-emitting diode (LEDs). Albania’s capital, Tirana, will undergo a range of sustainable initiatives, including promoting more efficiency streetlighting, with support from the EBRD. Antigua and Barbuda will also see LED streetlights through support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) that will replace over 14,000 streetlights
The SDG Knowledge Hub publishes the Sustainable Energy Finance Update monthly, focusing on announced funding for sustainable energy projects and other sustainable energy finance-related developments from international financial institutions. Past Sustainable Energy Finance Updates can be found under the tag: Finance Update: Sustainable Energy. Climate finance news and developments outside of the sustainable energy sector are included in the SDG Knowledge Hub’s monthly Climate Finance Update, which can be found under the tag: Finance Update: Climate Change.
BEIJING (AFP) – China opened its Silk Road summit Sunday (May 14) to showcase its ambitious plans to revive ancient trade routes from Asia to Europe and Africa.
President Xi Jinping hailed the initiative for a massive network of rail and maritime links – dubbed One Belt, One Road – as “a project of the century” in his address to delegates at the two-day conference in Beijing. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among the 29 leaders expected to attend, along with delegations from North Korea and the United States.
Few Western leaders are taking part.
Beijing’s grand vision – unveiled by Xi in 2013 – includes the “Silk Road Economic Belt”, which extends from China to central Asia through Europe, linking northern Xi’an city with Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Moscow, Rotterdam and Venice.
The “21st-century Maritime Silk Road” is a maritime transport route that plans to connect China’s east coast with Europe via the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Obor spans some 65 countries representing 60 percent of the global population and around a third of global GDP. The China Development Bank alone has earmarked US$890 billion for some 900 projects.
Here are some of them:
TRAINS
The China-Europe Railway Express includes 51 rail links connecting 27 Chinese and 28 European cities, with freight trains that offer shorter transport time than sea routes.
A planned 418-kilometre (260-mile) rail line between the Asian giant and Laos attempts to be the first overseas route that connects with the vast rail system in China. Once finished, it will be the longest and fastest in the southeastern Asian country. Another 873-kilometre high-speed railway project between China and Thailand will link the Chinese border to Thailand’s ports. It will transform southwestern Yunnan province into a trading hub that exports China’s goods to southeast Asian markets.
In Africa, Obor will include a 471-kilometre railway between Nairobi and Mombasa on the Indian Ocean coast. Passenger trains will zoom at 120 kilometres per hour, while freights will run at 80 kilometres per hour and carry 25 million tonnes of cargo per year.
SEA PORTS
Three state-owned Chinese enterprises bought Turkey’s third largest port, Kumport, which is considered an important joint between the “belt” and the “road”.
In Pakistan, a controversial trade route was inaugurated in November to link south-western Gwadar port, on the Arabian Sea, with Kashgar, a city in China’s north-western Xinjiang province. The economic corridor has alarmed India because it cuts through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, disputed territory that New Delhi claims is illegally occupied.
The port will provide China with safer and more direct access to the oil-rich Middle East than the waterway trade route it currently uses through the narrow Malacca Straits.
A new international airport will also be built in Gwadar. Central to the project in Pakistan is the renovation of a 487-kilometre road that is part of China’s only land passage to the Middle East.
INDUSTRIAL PARKS
China and Malaysia are building an industrial park in Kuantan, Malaysia for steel, aluminium and palm oil processing. In eastern Europe, a China-Belarus industrial park for high-tech businesses broke ground in Minsk in July 2014, the largest one built by the Asian country overseas.
International cooperation is continuously challenged to balance between achieving clearly defined results through the implementing agencies and the contribution to ambitious broad developmental goals as agreed by donor and partner countries. International Agreements demand from the Donor Agencies regular reporting on their contribution, at the same time implementing agencies focus on the achievement of narrowly defined project outputs and outcomes. However effective project management has to consider broad development goals by implementing a very targeted approach ensuring the achievement of results and meeting indicators. Professionals working in this arena require the competency to understand the needs arising from the SDGs and design projects, implement actions and report on progress addressing those needs.
Learning Objectives
During this training participants will strengthen their core competencies for managing results and catalyzing changes toward SDGs.
At the end of the training, the participants will have:
deepened their understanding of the concept of SDGs – goals, Targets and indicators and the relevance for project management
widened their perspectives on management and leadership and how blend them for contributing effectively to SDGs
gained the ability to link their project results to specific targets and indicators of the SDGs
strengthened their ability to understand the role of markers in the project proposal and to prepare reports addressing the needs related to the markers
improved their skills for considering SDGs in planning, monitoring and reporting.
Content / Topics
Evolution of the SDGs – Experiences with MDGs and key features of the SDGs
Understanding the various aspects of the SDGs: Goals, targets and Indicators
Role of bi-lateral and international projects in contributing to SDGs
Analyzing project documents (of participants) with special focus on SDGs (‘Results Model’, ‘Result Chain’, Indicators, Markers) so that contribution to SDGs can be made sharpened
Practicing practical Tools to be applied in the context of planning, monitoring, evaluating and reporting
Applying the tools in selected projects of the participants
Sharing experiences among peers and networking
Training approach
Presentation, critical reflection, discussion and case analysis
Analyzing projects of participants: individual work, mentoring, work in small team
Applying templates for monitoring and reporting contribution of projects to project relevant SDGs
Practicing report writing on SDG orientation and achievement.
Who should attend this course
Project staff with project management responsibility
Seconded experts
Project staff with M&E tasks and responsibilities
Project staff responsible for preparing documents for reporting to Donors
Mohan Dhamotharan (M.Sc.) is facilitator and trainer with 25 years experience in the space of international cooperation. He has worked intensely on topics such as leadership, management, capacity development as well as monitoring and evaluation. His working experience with organisations such as FAO-Rome, GIZ-Eschborn, APO-Tokyo, ZIF (Center for International Peace Operation) – Berlin, Ericsson – Stockholm, LEAD Academy-Berlin and International Project Management Association contributed to a broad understanding of management concepts and issues.
For more information on other training courses on offer such as Being Effective in Fragile Context, Managing for Sustainable Development Goals, Capacity Development Concept & Tools, Management Workshop – How to manage complex projects etc, check here to find out more.
15 February 2017: The World Bank has released a report scoring sustainable energy policies in 111 countries. The report, titled ‘RISE (Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy),’ examines policies to support energy access, renewables and energy efficiency.
According to the World Bank, RISE aims to help governments assess if they have a policy and regulatory framework in place to drive progress on sustainable energy and identifies areas “where more can be done to attract private investments.” RISE also enables countries to measure their performance against others, and will allow them to track progress over time. It will thereby support their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (afforable and clean energy) and 13 (climate action).
RISE finds that an increasing number of developing countries, including Mexico, China, Turkey, India, Vietnam, Brazil, and South Africa, are emerging as leaders in sustainable energy, with robust policies to support energy access, renewables and energy efficiency. However, the report also finds there is significant room for improvement across all regions, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“RISE finds that many countries have done little to create a regulatory environment favorable to accelerate the diffusion of solar home systems, despite plummeting costs of solar panels.”
Other key findings of the report include that: Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s least electrified continent and 40% of countries in the region have barely taken any of the policy measures needed to accelerate energy access, which relates to SDG target 7.1; many countries have done little to create a regulatory environment favorable to accelerate the diffusion of solar home systems, despite plummeting costs of solar panels; and in many countries, particularly in the developing world, policymakers are not paying nearly as much attention to energy efficiency, which relates to target 7.3, as to renewable energy.
The report has 27 indicators and 80 sub-indicators and examines over 3,000 laws, regulations and policy documents. RISE was produced as a contribution to Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL). The data is freely available on an online platform that enables users to customize the information by country and policy framework.
The World Bank will release a sister report to RISE, the ‘Global Tracking Framework,’ to track how countries are performing on sustainable energy goals. This report will be released during the Sustainable Energy for All Forum, which is scheduled to take place in New York, US, from 3-5 April 2017.
