10-20-08 by dugan
The nasty state of the economy means that a lot of planned government programs may hit the chopping block. Environmentalists fear that green
initiatives, including renewable power, will stall. But a new report
on the explosion of green jobs in California is filled with hard
evidence that the future of good blue-collar jobs is in energy
efficiency and renewable power–1.5 million net real jobs in one state,
to be specific. What’s good for the earth and good for the air is good
for middle-class economic health.
The study by David Roland-Holst, an economist at the Center for Energy,
Resources
and Economic Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley,
is on jobs in California, which has the longest and toughest history in
requiring energy efficiency and has set statewide global warming
standards. The state is thus a bellwether for national policy that is
belatedly focused on both of those issues. The report, "Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California,"
shows that the real economy-killer wold be delaying or aborting broad
policy changes to cut petroleum use and respond to global warming.
As the Los Angeles Times put it:
The report contrasts sharply with the views of some business groups,
which have been critical of the state’s commitment to cut its global
warming emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. That landmark 2006
legislation, AB 32, has been labeled a job killer by the California
Chamber of Commerce.But the Next 10 report says rigorous efforts to promote efficiency and
clean energy will save consumers billions of dollars and make
California more energy independent. And, the report contends, the law
provides the regulatory certainty needed to spur entrepreneurs to
invest in green technology.
Here, from the New York Times story, is the importance of the study’s historical focus–it’s not a rosy prediction, but a measurement of real-life results.
The study, which examined household spending, comes as state and
regional initiatives on climate-change policies have been gathering
momentum. At the same time, arguments have sharpened over how much it
will cost the economy to cut the emission of greenhouse gases like
carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels, which are linked to climate change. …Some economists focus their studies on the cost
of converting the power grid to run on low-carbon technologies, like
wind energy, or the cost of developing technologies to separate the
carbon dioxide from coal-plant emissions and bury it underground.
Others focus on the job creating potential of new energy industries.The
Berkeley study is different in that it focuses as much on historical
data as on modeling the future. California’s energy-efficiency policies
were adopted in 1978, long before the widespread push for
greenhouse-gas reductions, but the data they provide is highly relevant
to the current economic debate.
Key findings include:
- The 1.5 million net jobs gained since 1978 were concentrated in
industries, including wholesale/retail, finance and light industry,
whose profits are more likely to stay in-state (and in the U.S.) - Total net payroll increased by $44 millon.
- State energy efficiency initiatives, including rebates for
efficient appliances and requirements for utilities and commercial
buildings, have saved Californians $56 billion in energy costs, freeing
up income for other spending.
Green tech is "the breakout growth sector of the next generation,"
said author Roland-Holst. "We cannot afford to miss this market
opportunity."
The friends of oil are still trying to persuade
Americans that they can’t afford to consistently reduce greenhouse
emissions, that regulation has to be "flexible" and respond to the
perceived needs of industry. The truth is that consistency is what
creates new jobs–far, far more than would be lost–in green energy.
We literally can’t afford to let the nay-sayers win.