Query: Renewable energy investment kills jobs

Relevant passages:
BP <=SEP=> BP P.L.C. , formerly British Petroleum , is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London , England . It is one of the world 's seven oil and gas `` supermajors '' , whose performance in 2012 made it the world 's sixth-largest oil and gas company , the sixth-largest energy company by market capitalization and the company with the world 's fifth-largest revenue ( turnover ) . It is a vertically integrated company operating in all areas of the oil and gas industry , including exploration and production , refining , distribution and marketing , petrochemicals , power generation and trading . It also has renewable energy interests in biofuels and wind power .   As of 31 December 2016 , BP had operations in 72 countries worldwide , produced around 3.3 e6oilbbl/d of oil equivalent , and had total proved reserves of 17.81 e9oilbbl of oil equivalent . The company has around 18,000 service stations worldwide . Its largest division is BP America in the United States . In Russia BP owns a 19.75 % stake in Rosneft , the world 's largest publicly traded oil and gas company by hydrocarbon reserves and production . BP has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . It has secondary listings on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange .   BP 's origins date back to the founding of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1908 , established as a subsidiary of Burmah Oil Company to exploit oil discoveries in Iran . In 1935 , it became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and in 1954 British Petroleum . In 1959 , the company expanded beyond the Middle East to Alaska and it was one of the first companies to strike oil in the North Sea . British Petroleum acquired majority control of Standard Oil of Ohio in 1978 . Formerly majority state-owned , the British government privatised the company in stages between 1979 and 1987 . British Petroleum merged with Amoco in 1998 , becoming BP Amoco plc , and acquired ARCO and Burmah Castrol in 2000 , becoming BP plc in 2001 . From 2003 to 2013 , BP was a partner in the TNK-BP joint venture in Russia .   BP has been directly involved in several major environmental and safety incidents . Among them were the 2005 Texas City Refinery explosion , which caused the death of 15 workers and resulted in a record-setting OSHA fine ; Britain 's largest oil spill , the wreck of Torrey Canyon ; and the 2006 Prudhoe Bay oil spill , the largest oil spill on Alaska 's North Slope , which resulted in a US$ 25 million civil penalty , the largest per-barrel penalty at that time for an oil spill .   The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill , the largest accidental release of oil into marine waters in history , resulted in severe environmental , health and economic consequences , and serious legal and public relations repercussions for BP . 1.8 million gallons of Corexit oil dispersant were used in the cleanup response , becoming the largest application of such chemicals in US history . The company pleaded guilty to 11 counts of felony manslaughter , two misdemeanors , one felony count of lying to Congress , and agreed to pay more than $ 4.5 billion in fines and penalties , the largest criminal resolution in US history . On July 2 , 2015 , BP and five states announced an $ 18.5 billion settlement to be used for Clean Water Act penalties and various claims .

Green-collar worker <=SEP=> A green-collar worker is a worker who is employed in the environmental sectors of the economy . Environmental green-collar workers ( or green jobs ) satisfy the demand for green development . Generally , they implement environmentally conscious design , policy , and technology to improve conservation and sustainability . Formal environmental regulations as well as informal social expectations are pushing many firms to seek professionals with expertise with environmental , energy efficiency , and clean renewable energy issues . They often seek to make their output more sustainable , and thus more favorable to public opinion , governmental regulation , and the Earth 's ecology .   Green collar workers include professionals such as conservation movement workers , environmental consultants , council environmental services/waste management/recycling managers/officers , environmental or biological systems engineers , green building architects , landscape architects , holistic passive solar building designers , solar energy and wind energy engineers and installers , nuclear engineers , green vehicle engineers , `` green business '' owners , green vehicle , organic farmers , environmental lawyers , ecology educators , and ecotechnology workers , and sales staff working with these services or products . Green collar workers also include vocational or trade-level workers : electricians who install solar panels , plumbers who install solar water heaters , recycling centre/MRF attendants , process managers and collectors , construction workers who build energy-efficient green buildings and wind power farms , construction workers who weatherize buildings to make them more energy efficient , or other workers involved in clean , renewable , sustainable future energy development .   There is a growing movement to incorporate social responsibility within the green industries . A sustainable green economy simultaneously values the importance of natural resources and inclusive , equitable , and healthy opportunities for all communities .   In the context of the current world economic crisis , many experts now argue that a massive push to develop renewable sources of energy could create millions of new jobs and help the economy recover while simultaneously improving the environment , increasing labour conditions in poor economies , and strengthening energy and food security .

Renewable energy <=SEP=> Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources , which are naturally replenished on a human timescale , such as sunlight , wind , rain , tides , waves , and geothermal heat . Renewable energy often provides energy in four important areas : electricity generation , air and water heating/cooling , transportation , and rural ( off-grid ) energy services .   Based on REN21 's 2016 report , renewables contributed 19.2 % to humans ' global energy consumption and 23.7 % to their generation of electricity in 2014 and 2015 , respectively . This energy consumption is divided as 8.9 % coming from traditional biomass , 4.2 % as heat energy ( modern biomass , geothermal and solar heat ) , 3.9 % hydro electricity and 2.2 % is electricity from wind , solar , geothermal , and biomass . Worldwide investments in renewable technologies amounted to more than US$ 286 billion in 2015 , with countries like China and the United States heavily investing in wind , hydro , solar and biofuels . Globally , there are an estimated 7.7 million jobs associated with the renewable energy industries , with solar photovoltaics being the largest renewable employer . As of 2015 worldwide , more than half of all new electricity capacity installed was renewable .   Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas , in contrast to other energy sources , which are concentrated in a limited number of countries . Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security , climate change mitigation , and economic benefits . The results of a recent review of the literature concluded that as greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emitters begin to be held liable for damages resulting from GHG emissions resulting in climate change , a high value for liability mitigation would provide powerful incentives for deployment of renewable energy technologies . In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power . At the national level , at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 percent of energy supply . National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond . Some places and at least two countries , Iceland and Norway generate all their electricity using renewable energy already , and many other countries have the set a goal to reach 100 % renewable energy in the future . For example , in Denmark the government decided to switch the total energy supply ( electricity , mobility and heating/cooling ) to 100 % renewable energy by 2050 .   While many renewable energy projects are large-scale , renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries , where energy is often crucial in human development . United Nations ' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity . As most of renewables provide electricity , renewable energy deployment is often applied in conjunction with further electrification , which has several benefits : Electricity can be converted to heat ( where necessary generating higher temperatures than fossil fuels ) , can be converted into mechanical energy with high efficiency and is clean at the point of consumption . In addition to that electrification with renewable energy is much more efficient and therefore leads to a significant reduction in primary energy requirements , because most renewables do n't have a steam cycle with high losses ( fossil power plants usually have losses of 40 to 65 % ) .   Renewable energy systems are rapidly becoming more efficient and cheaper . Their share of total energy consumption is increasing . Growth in consumption of coal and oil could end by 2020 due to increased uptake of renewables and natural gas .

Renewable energy commercialization <=SEP=> Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years . First-generation technologies , which are already mature and economically competitive , include biomass , hydroelectricity , geothermal power and heat . Second-generation technologies are market-ready and are being deployed at the present time ; they include solar heating , photovoltaics , wind power , solar thermal power stations , and modern forms of bioenergy . Third-generation technologies require continued R&D efforts in order to make large contributions on a global scale and include advanced biomass gasification , hot-dry-rock geothermal power , and ocean energy . As of 2012 , renewable energy accounts for about half of new nameplate electrical capacity installed and costs are continuing to fall .   Public policy and political leadership helps to `` level the playing field '' and drive the wider acceptance of renewable energy technologies . Countries such as Germany , Denmark , and Spain have led the way in implementing innovative policies which has driven most of the growth over the past decade . As of 2014 , Germany has a commitment to the `` Energiewende '' transition to a sustainable energy economy , and Denmark has a commitment to 100 % renewable energy by 2050 . There are now 144 countries with renewable energy policy targets .   Renewable energy continued its rapid growth in 2015 , providing multiple benefits . There was a new record set for installed wind and photovoltaic capacity ( 64GW and 57GW ) and a new high of US$ 329 Billion for global renewables investment . A key benefit that this investment growth brings is a growth in jobs . The top countries for investment in recent years were China , Germany , Spain , the United States , Italy , and Brazil . Renewable energy companies include BrightSource Energy , First Solar , Gamesa , GE Energy , Goldwind , Sinovel , Trina Solar , Vestas , and Yingli .   Climate change concerns are also driving increasing growth in the renewable energy industries . According to a 2011 projection by the ( IEA ) International Energy Agency , solar power generators may produce most of the world 's electricity within 50 years , reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions .   Renewable power has been more effective in creating jobs than coal or oil in the United States .