Growing Quality Green Jobs

Combating climate change and the ripple effects of its impact is one of the major imperatives of our time. As extreme weather, resource shortages, and other challenges worsen, the U.S. economy is gradually shifting in response. While demand is increasing for well-known green job roles such as solar photovoltaic installer, environmental scientist, and electric vehicle technician, there are currently only 900,000 estimated green jobs within the United States, representing just 0.6% of the workforce. They also represent sectors that lack critical representation from the populations that climate change is hurting the most: people from low-income communities, people of color, and people from rural areas.

Indeed, it’s becoming increasingly clear that our country faces multiple, interrelated climate challenges. A transition to a green economy is not happening quickly enough to minimize significant health hazards brought on by climate change, nor is it building equitable resilience against devastating and ongoing natural disasters impacting communities nationwide. Emerging green jobs that could provide a foundation for change—particularly those that demand science, technology, engineering, and math skills—tend to require at least a bachelor’s degree and lack entry-level roles or clear pathways for people from underserved and underrepresented populations. A truly just transition to a green economy requires solutions that not only limit the root causes of our warming planet but also lead to accessible, equitable, and quality jobs for a sustainable future…