Markets worth hundreds of billions of dollars as well as millions of new jobs
BRETT WILKINS for Common Dreams
"The energy world is at the dawn of a new industrial
age—the age of clean energy technology manufacturing—that is creating major new
markets and millions of jobs but also raising new risks, prompting countries
across the globe to devise industrial strategies to secure their place in the
new global energy economy," the IEA report—entitled Energy Technology Perspectives
2023—asserts.
The publication is a "comprehensive analysis of global
manufacturing of clean energy technologies today—such as solar panels, wind
turbines, EV batteries, electrolyzers for hydrogen, and heat pumps—and their
supply chains around the world, as well as mapping out how they are likely to
evolve as the clean energy transition advances in the years ahead."
According to the paper:
The global market for key mass-manufactured clean energy
technologies will be worth around $650 billion a year by 2030—more than three
times today's level—if countries worldwide fully implement their announced
energy and climate pledges. The related clean energy manufacturing jobs would
more than double from six million today to nearly 14 million by 2030—and
further rapid industrial and employment growth is expected in the following
decades as transitions progress.
The report cautions that "at the same time, the current
supply chains of clean energy technologies present risks in the form of high
geographic concentrations of resource mining and processing as well as
technology manufacturing."
For example, the three largest producers of technologies like
solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries, electrolyzers, and
heat pumps "account for at least 70% of manufacturing capacity for each
technology—with China dominant in all of them."
"Meanwhile, a great deal of the mining for critical
minerals is concentrated in a small number of countries," the analysis
states. "The Democratic Republic of Congo produces over 70% of the world's
cobalt, and just three countries—Australia, Chile, and China—account for more
than 90% of global lithium production."
IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement that the new global energy economy "has become
a central pillar of economic strategy and every country needs to identify how
it can benefit from the opportunities and navigate the challenges."
"We're talking about new clean energy technology markets
worth hundreds of billions of dollars as well as millions of new jobs,"
Birol continued. "The encouraging news is the global project pipeline for
clean energy technology manufacturing is large and growing. If everything
announced as of today gets built, the investment flowing into manufacturing
clean energy technologies would provide two-thirds of what is needed in a
pathway to net-zero emissions."
"The current momentum is moving us closer to meeting our
international energy and climate goals—and there is almost certainly more to
come," he added.
Birol also stressed that "the world would benefit from more
diversified clean technology supply chains."
"As we have seen with Europe's reliance on Russian gas,
when you depend too much on one company, one country, or one trade route—you
risk paying a heavy price if there is disruption," he noted, referring to
Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
An analysis of U.S. federal data published earlier this month by the sustainable energy
development nonprofit SUN DAY Campaign concluded that wind and solar alone
could generate more electricity in the United States than nuclear and coal in
2023.
A separate report released this week by the Rhodium Group, a New York-based
nonpartisan research firm, found that while U.S. carbon emissions rose for the
second straight year in 2022, renewable energy surpassed coal as a power source
in the United States for the first time in more than 60 years.