jobs is temporally aligned with the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIP4) that offered incentives to firms to invest in green energy production. The program was introduced in 2011, active in 2013 and 2014, and slowed down after 2014, mirroring the potential green jobs trend in Figure 2.<sup>27</sup> The share of green jobs in the South African labor market greatly differs by gender with only 3 percent of working South African women being in strictly green occupations, compared to 8 percent of men. When using the broad definition of green jobs, 14 percent of women are in broadly green jobs compared to 47 percent of men. As we discuss below, the gender difference in the share of green jobs is linked to the persistent gender occupational segregation in the labor market.

The South Africa estimates are within the range of estimates from other countries. Granata and Posadas (2024), whose methodology we use in this paper, report 2.3 percent green employment for Indonesia.<sup>28</sup> Similarly, Doan et al (2022) find that 3.6 percent of Vietnamese jobs can be classified as strictly green while 41 percent are broadly green. Using the O*NET definition of green occupations and a continuous measure of green jobs, Vona et al. (2019) estimate the share of green jobs in the US to be between 2-3 percent over the period 20062014. Using a binary definition of green jobs which allowed for a broader set of green occupations, Consoli et al. (2016) report that between 9.8 and 12.3 percent of U.S. workers were in green employment in the period 2011-2012. In another study from the U.S, Bowen et al. (2018) estimate that 10.3 percent of all employment in the US were in “directly green” occupations while "indirectly green" occupations made up another 9.1 percent of all employment. Valero et al. (2021) estimate the share of green employment in the UK to be between 17 percent and 39 percent in 2019. The higher share of green jobs for the UK as compared to other countries is partly due to data challenges when cross-walking between the O*NET which uses the US 8-digit standard occupational classification and the UK labor force surveys which is based on the 4-digit ISCO-08 classification.

27 Introduced in 2011, the REIP4 used a competitive procurement program to increase electricity generation through renewable energy sources. Investing companies needed 40 percent local ownership, leading to increased partnerships between foreign and South African companies, including knowledge and skill sharing and green jobs (ILO 2018). The increase in the demand for solar PVs may have increased the demand for solar panel installers and assemblers, explaining the increase in potentially green jobs between 2013 and 2014. However, the stalling of the REIP4 initiative after 2014 meant that investment in renewable energy technology also stalled corresponding to the flattening of the trend.

28 Although we use the same methodology as Posadas and Granata (2024), there are a few reasons that could explain the differences in the estimated share of green jobs in South Africa and Indonesia. First, the Granata and Posadas (2024) analysis excludes agricultural occupations while we include the agricultural occupations in the sample. Second, it is possible that the South African economy differs from the Indonesian economy both in structure and in the profile of workers. For example, the mining sector, which will be substantially affected by the green transition, contributes to a significant share of employment in the South African economy and for this reason, our green occupations list includes occupations such as mining managers and mining engineers, occupations which are not included in Granata and Posadas’ (2024) green occupations list.

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