A worker installs solar electric panels on a residential rooftop in California. Last year, employmentsolar-energy business grew 12 times faster than overall job creation. cErry TMAIES

in the U.S.

Clean-energy jobs surpass

etffi^e+glp;;rry,WilDlr.sWorldwide climate-change effortsspur rapid growth in workforce

ANNA HIRTENSTEIN

The number of U.S. jobs in solarenergy overtook those in oil andnatural gas extraction for thefirst time last year, helping drivea global surge in employment inthe clean-energybusiness as fossil-fuel companies faltered.

Employment in the U.S. solarbusiness grew 12 times fasterthan overalljob creation, the In-ternational Renewable EnergyAgencysaid in a report onWednes-day. About 8.1 million peopleworldwide had jobs in the cleanenergy in 2Ol 5, up from7.7 millionin2OI4, according to the industrygroup based inAbu Dhabi.

Fed by state initiatives to spurclean energSt and innovative fi nanc-ing measures offered by companiessuch as SolarCity Corp., develop-ers are adding workers at recordrates to install rooftop panels.Oil and gas producers by contrasthave slashed 351,410 jobs world-wide since prices began to slide inthe middle of 2Ot4, according toHouston-based Graves & Co.

"The continued job growth in therenewable energy sector is signifi-cant because it stands in contrastto trends acress the energy sec-tor," said Adnan Amin, director-general of Iren4 which is based inAbu Dhabi. "This increase is beingdriven by declining renewable en-ergytechnology costs and enablingpolicy frameworks. We expect thisto continue as the case for renew-ables strengthens and countriesmove to achieve climate targets."

The pace of jobs $owth world-wide slowed last year from 18 percent in 2OI4, mainly because oflower investment in biofuels fol-lowing the oil price slump, whichmade alternative fuels less eco-nomically attractive, Irena said.Brent crude prices slipped 35 percent last year, the third consecutivedecline. Biofuels made from cropssuch as sugar and corn employed1.7 million workers, selcond to solarwith almost 2.8 million jobs.

The group projects the work-force in clean energy will grow to24 million by 2030 if United Na-tions targets are met on climate

change and development.The 58-per-cent slide in oil prices

since June 2014, triggered by SaudiArabia's grab for market share, hasprompted reductions in employ-ment in the fossil fuels industry.Many higher-cost produiers inthe U.S. shale industry, Canada'soilsands and Brazil's deepwater-drilling projects have become un-profitable. The transition to cleanenergy spurred by a landmark dealin Paris involving almost 2OO na-tions is reflected in the global la-bour market for renewables.

China installed the most newrenewable capacity in the worldin 2Ol5 with 65 gigawatts. It em-ployed 35 per cent more people inits clean energy industry than inoil and gas.

Chin4 Brazil and the U.S. were atthe front of the pack for renewableenergy jobs. Asia is home to 6O percent of the world's renewable en-ergy employees, up from just over50 percent in 2013. Japan sawjobsin its solar PV industry gain by 28per cent in 2014.

Most of Brazil's clean energyworkers were in the liquid biofu-els industry which was the second-largest job market in renewablesafter solar PV.Bloomberg