New Report Shows Climate and Community Protection Act would Add 150,000 Jobs to New York Economy

A new report by Demos shows that transitioning to a 100% renewable economy would add 150,000 jobs to the New York economy over the next decade.

The report, titled The Climate and Community Protection Act: A Big Win for New York State on Jobs and the Economy, draws on a study led by Robert Pollin at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The study calculated job creation based on the investments needed to put New York State on a pathway to 100 percent renewable energy, as required by the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA, S2992 /A3876). Over the first decade, New York can expect to add 150,000 jobs related to the renewable energy transition, with the majority of jobs going to individuals without college degrees.

By mandating that forty percent of state funds for a renewable energy transition are invested in environmentally-vulnerable low-income communities, the CCPA directs this job growth to the communities that need it most.

"Fossil fuel companies say climate action will kill jobs, but ignoring climate change is the real job killer," said Lew Daly, Senior Policy Analyst at Demos and author of the report. "New York is well-positioned to reap the job-creating benefits of transitioning to a fossil-free economy. If we take action now, not only will we be able to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we will be able to use this moment to create hundreds of thousands of good jobs across the state."

Other key findings:

• CCPA-related investments will create 160,000 jobs in the first year of implementation, and this investment will support 150,000 jobs on average in each year over the first decade.
• Including induced jobs (jobs created by the increased purchasing power of clean energy workers), the CCPA is expected to create and support 220,000 jobs over the first decade.
• A majority (55%) of clean energy sector jobs are held by people without a college degree.
• For workers with a high school degree or less, average compensation is expected to be over $60,000 per year. For workers with some college education or an Associate's Degree, average compensation is expected to be over $70,000 per year.
• All told, the green economy transition required under the CCPA is expected to generate $138 billion in cumulative income for New Yorkers over the decade.

For the full report, please visit the Demos website at: bit.ly/2Fn83D0

About the Climate and Community Protection Act:

The Climate and Community Protection Act is a landmark climate justice bill that creates a clean-energy economy while investing in good jobs and racial and economic justice. It establishes aggressive mandates to ensure New York achieves a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the next 30 years, keeping the state in line with UN recommendations to avoid catastrophic global warming. The CCPA also includes the country's most progressive jobs and equity provisions of any climate legislation in the country. Under the CCPA, 40% of state energy and climate funds used to propel the transition must be invested in low-income communities and communities of color. In addition, the CCPA would attach fair labor standards, including prevailing wage standards, to green projects receiving state funding.

The CCPA has passed the New York State Assembly in the past three legislative sessions, and is currently sponsored by a majority of State Senators. This year, both Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have pointed to CCPA as the way forward for climate policy in NY.

About NY Renews:

NY Renews is a nonpartisan coalition of almost 170 member organizations. The coalition seeks a sustainable future for the earth and its people, recognizing that climate change represents a threat to all and especially to vulnerable people such as workers, people of color, seniors, youth, and the poor. NY Renews believes that the climate crisis and the inequality crisis can be solved with the same set of policies, and that climate protection must serve as a means to challenge racial injustice and bring about greater economic equity.

The NY Renews Steering Committee includes: 32BJ SEIU, ALIGN -- Alliance for a Greater New York, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Center for Working Families, Citizen Action of New York, Demos, Environmental Advocates of New York, GreenFaith, Long Island Progressive Coalition, Make the Road New York, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, People's Climate Movement NY, PUSH Buffalo, Sierra Club, Teamsters Local Council 16, and UPROSE.