This is more than the number of people believed to be directly employed in the oil and gas sector, particularly in the US.

IRENA’s numbers say the number of US jobs in solar energy overtook those in oil and gas extraction for the first time last year, with solar jobs growing 12 times faster than overall job creation.

The Abu Dhabi-based IRENA said the continued job growth in the renewable energy sector was stark contrast to trends across the energy sector, where jobs are in decline amid the latest bust.

“This increase is being driven by declining renewable energy technology costs and enabling policy frameworks. We expect this trend to continue as the business case for renewables strengthens and as countries move to achieve their climate targets agreed in Paris,” IRENA director-general Adnan Amin said.

The total number of renewable energy jobs worldwide rose in 2015 while jobs in the broader energy sector fell, the report found.

Oil and gas producers by contrast have slashed 351,410 jobs worldwide since prices began to slide in the middle of 2014.

“In the United States for example, renewable energy jobs increased 6% while employment in oil and gas decreased 18%,” the report said. “Likewise in China, renewable energy employed 3.5 million people, while oil and gas employed 2.6 million.”

A further 1.3 million direct jobs were supported by large hydropower, based on conservative estimates.

As in previous years, enabling policy frameworks remained a key driver of employment.

National and state auctions in India and Brazil, tax credits in the US and favourable policies in Asia have all contributed to employment increases.

China, Brazil and the US were at the front of the pack for renewable energy jobs, leading India, Japan and Germany. Asia is home to 60% of the world’s renewable energy employees, up from just over 50% in 2013.

Japan saw jobs in its solar PV photovoltaic industry gain by 28% in 2014.

The solar PV sector remains the largest renewable energy employer worldwide with 2.8 million jobs, up 300,000, with jobs in manufacturing, installation and operations and maintenance.

Liquid biofuels was the second largest global employer with 1.7 million jobs, followed by wind power, which grew 5% to reach 1.1 million global jobs.

“As the ongoing energy transition accelerates, growth in renewable energy employment will remain strong,” Amin said.

“IRENA’s research estimates that doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030 – enough to meet global climate and development targets – would result in more than 24 million jobs worldwide.”

IRENA’s early research also indicates that the renewable energy sector employed larger shares of women than the broader energy sector.

The group projects the workforce in clean energy will grow to 24 million by 2030 if United Nations targets are met on climate change and development.