Economic Benefits of Clean Energy
The transformation to a clean energy economy is already underway, as are its benefits to our economic security, climate security, and national security.
Spotlight: Green jobs and the growing green economy
The clean energy economy is the key to unlocking green jobs, protecting public health, and positioning America as a global leader in the 21st century—all while reducing our dependence on dirty, dangerous fossil fuels and combating global warming.
But conservatives and dirty energy lobbyists are busy attacking green jobs, funneling dirty money to dirty energy campaigns to make the case that we should continue to subsidize and rely on volatile, dangerous sources such as coal and oil. The following resources push back against their false claims. Please visit our jobs and investment resources page here to learn more:
Low-carbon Innovation:
Bracken Hendricks, Sean Pool, and Lisbeth Kaufman explain how low-carbon industrial strategies can ensure American sustained leadership in innovation.
The Importance and Promise of American Manufacturing:
Michael Ettlinger and Kate Gordon explain why U.S. manufacturing matters.
How to Shape the Clean Energy Future of the United States:
A Clean Energy Standard is a primary way for the United States to compete in the trillion-dollar renewable energy technologies market. Richard W. Caperton, Kate Gordon, Bracken Hendricks, and Daniel J. Weiss propose core principles to guide its design.
Good Stewards of Creation, Good Stewards of Their Budgets:
Houses of worship are saving big with new tools to reduce their energy use, writes Marta Cook.
Putting America Back to Work with Clean Energy:
Richard Caperton and Adam Hersh explain the benefits of investing in green jobs.
The Most Important Energy Bill in American History:
Bracken Hendricks and Jorge Madrid document the Recovery Act’s impressive benefits to our clean energy economy. We must continue this momentum.
The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy:
Report from Robert Pollin, James Heintz, and Heidi Garrett-Peltier outlines how the economic stimulus program and new legislation can boost U.S. economic growth and employment.
Featured Content
A New Retrofit Industry: An Analysis of the Job Creation Potential of Tax Incentives for Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings and other components of the Better Buildings Initiative from the U.S. Green Building Council (June, 2011)
Fact Sheet: Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency from EESI (June, 2011)
Regional Clean Energy Economy Boosted With $2.5 Million in RGGI Auction Proceeds from RGGI Inc. (June, 2011)
Green Jobs Index from Green for All (June, 2011)
Making a Case for Innovation Investment in an Era of Austerity from Third Way Clean Energy Program (May, 2011)
How to Revitalize America's Middle Class with the Clean Energy Economy from the Blue Green Alliance is an excellent issue brief that shows how the clean-energy economy is already revitalizing the American manufacturing sector and creating good paying union jobs. Skip to the end for some great state-level statistics. (June, 2009)
Working for the Climate, a report recently released by Green Peace and the European Renewable Energy Council, shows how many jobs could be created in renewable power generation under a global “energy [r]evolution” scenario. (August, 2009)
Why Clean Energy Public Investment Makes Economic Sense is a 2009 report by the United Nations Environment Programme that clearly presents the evidence the connection between government clean-energy spending and overall economic health. (October, 2009)
Wind Energy for Rural Economic Development from the Department of Energy is a useful eight-page fact sheet that describes how meeting the goal of 100,000 MW of wind power will create $60 billion in capital investment in rural America, generate $1.2 billion in new income for rural landowners, and create 80,000 new jobs. (June, 2004)
Green Collar Jobs in the U.S. and Colorado: Economic Drivers for the 21st Century from the American Solar Energy Society presents an estimate of the size and composition of the national renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, including technology, sales, tax revenue, jobs, occupations, skills, and projected growth through 2030. (January, 2009)
Green Prosperity: How Clean-Energy Policies Can Fight Poverty and Raise Living Standards in the United States from the Political Economy Research Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Green For All is a companion report to CAP’s “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy.” It shows how transitioning to a clean-energy economy will create opportunity for people of all education and income levels. (June, 2009)
Manufacturing Climate Solutions, from the Center on Globalization Governance and Competitiveness, goes technology by technology to show the opportunities for manufacturing growth in the clean energy and energy efficiency industries. (November, 2008)
New Energy Economy Market Research Study from the Environmental Defense Fund
State Fact Sheets on Clean Energy Jobs in the United States from the Environmental Defense Fund
The Clean Energy Economy from the Pew Charitable Trusts
Clean Energy Economy Fact Sheets from the Pew Charitable Trusts
Clean Energy Investment Creates Jobs in Every State: Fact Sheets for the 50 States and DC from the Center for American Progress and Political Economy Research Institute
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