Energy Transition and Employment

This research project will contain four studies on the topic of renewable energy, employment and entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. With about half of its national population being under 25 years of age, questions remain whether Saudi Arabia can secure adequate employment opportunities for its rapidly growing labor force. These concerns play a major role in the thinking behind Saudi Vision 2030, which includes a collection of policy initiatives focused on accelerating the energy transition, reducing unemployment, increasing labor participation, and further developing entrepreneurship. Although the energy sector has long been known to be capital intensive –particularly in more traditional industries like oil, gas and coal -the transition to new energy technologies provides an opportunity to reconsider the relationship between energy and employment. While the economic literature heralds the potential of energy renewables to create employment, many systemic constraints hamper the Saudi labor force from taking advantage of these “green job” opportunities.