Topics | Umweltbundesamt

In 2021, around 3.2 million people worked in environmental protection. That was 7.1 % of all employees.Of this, over half are environment-related services.Since 2002, employment in environmental protection has risen steadily and environmental protection has established itself as an important factor for the labour market. read more

387,700 people worked in the renewable energy sector in 2022.Employment in the renewable energy sector reflects the development of the German market.Strong employment growth until 2011 was followed by a pronounced decline that resulted from the widespread collapse of the domestic photovoltaic industry.Only since 2019, employment has been rising again. read more

The number of people working in environmental protection has increased steadily in recent years. In 2017, more than 2.8 million people were working in the environmental protection sector. As environmental protection measures often benefit labour-intensive sectors and replace imports with domestic value-added, the net employment effects of environmental protection are often also positive. read more