June, 18 2009, 01:06pm EDT
Clean-Energy Investment Provides Economic Boost, More Jobs, and Expanded Opportunities
New Analysis Demonstrates How America Can Create 1.7 Million Jobs and Opportunities for Low-Income Families
WASHINGTON
As clean energy and climate legislation moves through Congress, new
data show that a $150 billion investment in clean energy could create a
net increase of 1.7 million American jobs and significantly lower the
national unemployment rate. According to the analysis, shifting to a
clean-energy economy will help millions of low-income Americans by
creating more accessible job opportunities -- with the potential for
advancement -- and by lowering utility bills and transportation costs.
Two complementary reports - prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (PERI), Center for American Progress (CAP), Green For All, and the Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC) - outline how investment in a clean-energy economy will produce
significant economic and job creation benefits. These include the
generation of roughly three times more jobs than would be generated by
the same investment in the existing fossil fuel infrastructure.
"As
Congressional leaders debate energy and climate legislation in
Washington, we are seeing growing momentum behind a shift to clean
energy and efficiency across America," said Peter Lehner, Executive
Director of NRDC. "It's never been clearer that American ingenuity and
investment in clean energy can be a driving force for economic growth,
energy independence, and environmental protection, so we can increase
economic opportunities while reducing global warming pollution."
"Jobs
are the cornerstone of any economic recovery, and these reports show
that investing in the clean-energy economy will create 1.7 million new
jobs across the country as well as cut America's contribution to global
warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said John Podesta,
President of the Center for American Progress.
The
Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy: How the Economic
Stimulus Program and New Legislation Can Boost U.S. Economic Growth and
Employment from PERI and CAP explains how the combination of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the American Clean
Energy and Security Act (ACES) could serve as the foundation for
bringing total clean-energy investments in the United States to
approximately $150 billion per year. This public spending and private
investment would produce a net gain of 1.7 million new jobs.
"These
reports make clear that investment in a clean-energy economy will
create pathways to prosperity for millions of Americans, especially in
low-income communities and communities of color," said Phaedra
Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All. "Green-collar, career-path jobs
that are accessible to Americans from a broad range of educational
backgrounds are a win for our economy, a win for our environment, and a
win for our workers."
Green Prosperity: How Clean-Energy Policies Can Fight Poverty and Raise Living Standards in the United States
from PERI, NRDC and Green For All shows that shifting from traditional
fossil fuel to clean energy will improve the standard of living for
millions of Americans across all skill and education levels, especially
among lower-income families.
According to the "Green
Prosperity" report, nearly half of the 1.7 million new jobs created by
green investment will be accessible to workers with relatively low
levels of formal education. Of these, nearly 75 percent will have high
potential for advancement. This expansion could drive down the
unemployment rate by more than one percentage point.
In
addition to creating new economic opportunities, this investment will
significantly contribute to improvements in energy efficiency in
buildings and homes, lowering overall energy costs for consumers and
especially benefiting lower-income households. These savings could be
as high as 4 percent of household incomes for some families. Moving to
clean energy would also improve public transportation, especially in
urban areas, which could lead to an average reduction in living costs
of 1 to 4 percent per family.
"Economic Benefits of
Investing in Clean Energy" breaks down the economic growth potential in
all 50 states, while the "Green Prosperity" report focuses on job
creation and the economic impact on lower-income families in 41 regions
across 22 states.
"These studies draw on simple but
robust modeling techniques to estimate the effects on U.S. employment
and living standards of a $150 billion annual clean-energy investment
program," said Robert Pollin, Co-Director, Political Economy Research
Institute at the University of Massachusetts. "By synthesizing these
data sources and modeling approaches in a new way, we are able to
observe in detail how clean-energy investments can deliver substantial
benefits to communities throughout the country, especially for
lower-income working people and their families."
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
(212) 727-2700LATEST NEWS
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"In the blind sprint to win on AI, Meta and the other tech giants have lost their way," said a leader at Environment America.
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The International Energy Agency has concluded since 2022 that no new LNG export developments are required to meet energy demand while limiting global temperatures to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. Despite this, LNG developers have upped export capacity by 7% and import capacity by 19% in the last two years alone, according to Reclaim Finance. By the end of the decade, they are planning an additional 156 terminals: 93 for imports and 63 for exports.
Those 63 export terminals, if built, could alone release 10 metric gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions—nearly as much as all currently operating coal plants release in a year. What's more, building more LNG infrastructure undermines the green transition.
"Each new LNG project is a stumbling block to the Paris agreement and will lock in long-term dependence on fossil fuels, hampering the shift toward low-carbon economies," the report authors explained.
Many large banks have pledged to reach net-zero emissions, yet they are still financing the LNG boom. U.S. banks are especially responsible, Reclaim Finance found, funding nearly a quarter of the buildout, followed by Japanese banks at around 14%.
The top 10 banks funding LNG expansion are:
- Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group (Japan)
- JP Morgan Chase (U.S.)
- Mizuho (Japan)
- Gazprombank (Russia)
- SMBC Group (Japan)
- Bank of America (U.S.)
- Citigroup (U.S.)
- Goldman Sachs (U.S.)
- Morgan Stanley (U.S.)
- RBC (Canada)
While 26 of the banks on the report's list of top 30 LNG financiers have made 2050 net-zero commitments, none of them have adopted a policy to stop funding LNG projects. None of top 10 banks have any LNG policy at all, despite the fact that Bank of America and Morgan Stanley helped found the Net Zero Banking Alliance. Instead of winding down financing, these banks are winding it up, as LNG funding increased by 25% from 2021 to 2023. In 2023 alone, 1,453 transactions were made between banks and LNG developers.
All of this funding comes despite not only climate risks, but also the local dangers posed by LNG export terminals to frontline communities. Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass LNG, for example, has harmed health through excessive air pollution while dredging and tanker traffic has disturbed ecosystems and the livelihoods of fishers.
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The nomination of Billy Long, said one lawmaker, indicates "Trump's intention to make the agency less responsive to the American people, while giving a green light to wealthy tax cheats."
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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to run the Internal Revenue Service, former Rep. Billy Long, didn't serve on the House committee tasked with writing tax policy during his six terms in office, and his lack of relevant experience is likely "exactly what Trump was looking for," according to one economic justice advocate.
Progressive lawmakers joined advocates on Wednesday in denouncing Trump's selection of Long, who since leaving office in 2023 has promoted a tax credit that's been riddled with fraud and who spent his time in the House pushing to abolish the very agency he's been chosen to run.
As a Republican congressman from Missouri, Long repeatedly sponsored legislation to dismantle the IRS, which under President Joe Biden has recovered at least $1 billion from wealthy people who previously evaded taxes.
He also co-sponsored legislation to repeal all estate taxes, which are overwhelmingly paid by the wealthiest households, but "said almost nothing on the floor regarding taxes, the IRS, and taxation during his 12 years in Congress," said John Bresnahan of Punchbowl News.
Long's limited experience with tax policy "ought to set off alarm bells," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who pointed to "vastly improved taxpayer service" under the leadership of IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, who Biden chose to replace Trump's nominee from his first term, Charles Rettig, after Rettig served his full term.
Werfel has "set up a tremendous direct-file system, and begun badly needed crackdowns on ultra-wealthy tax cheats who rip off law-abiding Americans," said Wyden. "If Trump fires Mr. Werfel, it won't be to improve on his work; it'll be to install somebody Trump can control as he meddles with the IRS."
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"These ERTC mills that have popped up over the last few years are essentially fraud on an industrial scale, conning small businesses and ripping off American taxpayers to the tune of billions of dollars," said Wyden. "I'm going to have a lot of questions about Mr. Long's role in this business, first and foremost why the American people ought to trust somebody involved with a fraud-ridden industry to run an agency that's tasked with rooting out fraud."
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) added that Trump's nomination of Long signals "the weaponization of the tax agency."
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