COP26’s Outcome for Green Energy Recruitment

Welcome to Aurex Group's Asia monthly snapshot for the renewable energy industry where we highlight some of the factors and events influencing the industry for renewable energy recruitment. In this issue, we discuss the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, the Glasgow Climate Pact that resulted from this, and its impact on green energy recruitment.

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What people are talking about

EDPR becomes the majority shareholder in Sunseap; plans 2.2GW floating solar in Batam, Indonesia with interconnection to Singapore to power data centers.

Shell and CoensHexicon create JV called MunmuBaram for 1.4GW floating offshore wind in Korea.

Itochu, Kyuden Mirai Energy, and Tokyo Land launch JV for 50MW biomass power plant in Aichi prefecture, Japan, expected to be operational by 2025.

NSW approved an energy amendment bill that allows stand-alone power systems that are owned by energy distributors such as off-grid batteries to sell power.

Australia’s Star of the South, the country’s first offshore wind farm, received nearly 20M AUD from the government of Victoria to co-fund pre-construction activities for the 2.2GW power plant.

Enel plans to trip total renewable energy capacity to 154GW by 2030; go net-zero by 2040.

In Taiwan, CIP has raised USD 1.62B for the 298MW Zong Neng wind farm while Northland Power and Yushan Energy will likely start debt financing for the 300MW Hai Long 2a project in December.

Italian oil major Eni plans to IPO subsidiary Eni Plenitude, a recently merged business grouping all activities for renewables, retail sales, EV charging networks, and e-mobility.

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What we are currently working on

For the full job descriptions regarding the roles below, please contact us directly. 

• Lead Engineer, Wind & Solar, South Korea

• Legal Counsel, Renewable Energy, South Korea

• Contract Manager, Wind & Solar, South Korea

• Contracts Engineer-1, Hydropower, Pakistan

• Commercial Manager, Solar, South Korea

• Junior Development Manager, Solar, Taiwan

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A Bright Future for Jobs in Green Energy

COP26 was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference and was held in Glasgow this year from October 31st to November 13th. Participants include those who are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, party to the 2015 Paris Agreement and parties to the Kyoto Protocol. In all, 20,000+ representatives for 197 entities attended.

The result of the conference was the Glasgow Climate Pact which reaffirms the Paris Agreement goal of “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels” and is the first climate agreement to explicitly reduce coal usage. 

Originally, the wording read “phase out” coal, but due to negotiations led by India and China, the wording was changed to “phase down” coal before signing. It specifically focuses on “unabated” coal usage which means coal emissions are not neutralized through carbon capture or storage processes. Globally, coal still produces 37% of the world’s electricity.

The conference also resulted in the following pledges:

• 140 countries pledged to reach net-zero emissions which will cover 90% of greenhouse gas emissions.

• 100+ countries pledged to reverse deforestation by 2030, notably Brazil.

• 100+ countries signed the Global Methane Pledge to reduce emissions by 30% collectively.

• 40+ countries pledged to shift away from coal, including major users such as Vietnam.

• 25+ countries and financial institutions pledged to end public financing for unabated fossil fuel projects including coal, oil, and natural gas abroad by 2022.

• 23 countries committed to fully ending coal-fired power plants.

• 20+ countries and a group of major car manufacturers such as GM, Ford, Volvo, BYD Auto, Jaguar Land Rover, and Mercedes-Benz have committed to “work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero-emission globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets.”

• 11 national and subnational governments (such as the state of California, USA) committed to transition away from oil & gas.

• 1 India committed to drawing half of its energy from renewables by 2030 and to achieving carbon neutrality by 2070.

What does this mean for Jobs in Renewable Energy?

While many climate activists argue that these measures do not go far enough and that these commitments put us on a path to raise global temperatures by 2.7 degrees C by 2100, it is great to see so many firm pledges at hand, suggesting that jobs in renewable energy and a need for renewable energy staffing will continue to be in high demand for decades to come.

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Market Moves

We always look forward to keeping in touch and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions. If you are a company considering hiring renewable energy, we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities. If you are a candidate, please check our jobs page or reach out to us to discuss our renewable energy recruitment capabilities, your background, skills, and future aspirations.

​	Amy Marietta  Consultant, Power Generation, Asia  Aurex Singapore Pte Ltd  amy.marietta@aurexgroup.com  +65 9424 0023  12 Marina View, #11-01 Asia Square Tower 2, Singapore 018961  EA 18S9493 | R1878463