SA needs renewable energy sector jobs

SOUTH Africa is in the throes of a jobs crunch. Next week, Statistics South Africa will release its fourth-quarter labour force survey which, after reporting consecutive record highs, will lay bare the depth of the crisis.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address last week was preoccupied with job creation. There is good reason for this; in the third quarter of 2021 the unemployment rate rose to 34.9%, the highest level on record.

The president’s address also gave a nod to another crisis, which itself will have an effect on the future of employment in the country: climate change.

Experts have warned that the climate crisis and efforts to decarbonise the economy stand to deepen unemployment, especially if there are no policy interventions to create new jobs in the renewable energy sector.

Sonia Phalatse, a researcher at the Institute for Economic Justice, said climate change will worsen the state’s capacity to address the economic crisis.

“The climate crisis and economic crisis are intricately intertwined and can be addressed by policymakers by implementing a truly just transition towards a green sustainable economy that protects workers and creates decent jobs.”

Recent data from the United Kingdom demonstrates that a green job drive may be easier said than done.

On Thursday, the UK’s Office for National Statistics released new data on the size of that country’s green economy and the progress made, since 2014, in green job creation. According to the data, there was no significant change in the turnover and employment in the UK’s low-carbon and renewable energy economy between 2014 and 2020.

In 2020, businesses activity in the green economy generated £41.2-billion (about R840-billion) in turnover. There were 207 800 full-time equivalent employees working those businesses.