Hitting global climate target could create 8m energy jobs, study says

Researchers suggest net increase would mostly occur in renewables sector, with decline in fossil fuels

If some politicians are to be believed, taking sweeping action to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement would be calamitous for jobs in the energy sector. But a study suggests that honouring the global climate target would, in fact, increase net jobs by about 8 million by 2050.

The study - in which researchers created a global dataset of the footprint of energy jobs in 50 countries including major fossil fuel-producing economies - found that currently an estimated 18 million people work in the energy industries, which is likely to increase to 26 million if climate targets are met.