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An Economic Imperative: Climate Action in the Golden State

Summary:

California is already suffering dire economic impacts from the effects of climate change, presenting significant business and economic risk to the world’s fifth largest economy. The costs of extreme climate events such as wildfires and droughts have risen steadily throughout the past decade, and are projected to increase dramatically in California if current trajectories continue. These costs are being borne by everyone who lives, pays taxes, buys insurance, or works in California.

At the same time, aggressively addressing climate change — reducing greenhouse gas emissions while growing the state’s clean energy economy — presents one of the greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century. Ambitious climate action produces robust job creation, sustainable economic growth, and California leading global innovation across a wide range of industry sectors. Members of Congress can seize this opportunity by passing a bold American Jobs Plan anchored in clean energy investments; California lawmakers must build on existing state climate policy leadership to ensure the state remains a nexus of investment and innovation in the 21st-century economy.

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Findings

• $55 Billion in direct property damage from California wildfires, 2017 – 2020
• $47 billion in economic activity in California’s clean ocean economy under threat from sea level rise and ocean warming
• $50.5 billion in overall production value of California’s 77,500 farms, which now face regular threats from droughts and other climate change-related impacts.
• 484,980 jobs – Nearly a half million Californians are employed in the clean energy economy, representing 285 of the state’s construction workers and 3% of California’s economy-wide workforce
• #1 export – Electric vehicles were the state’s most valuable export in 2020, producing nearly $5.7 billion in revenue

About this Report

This report reviews and compares the damage to California’s economy from recent climate-related disasters and risks from future unabated climate change to the potential impact specific climate action policies could have on job and economic growth in the state’s core industries such as technology, construction, agriculture, and tourism. The report, made possible by the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Foundation, uses publicly-available information and data from previous E2 analysis, BW Research, state and federal agencies, the University of California system, and other sources.

Looking for More Info?

If you are looking for additional insight into the clean economy and how it drives job growth, please see E2’s other clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports.

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Clean Jobs Midwest 2021

After Rough Year, Clean Energy Jobs on the Upswing in the Midwest

More than 677,900 Midwesterners worked in clean energy and clean vehicles at the end of 2020, making the sector a major – and promising – part of the region’s economy, according to this comprehensive analysis of employment data.

Like most of the economy, clean energy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn in 2020. According to this year’s Clean Jobs Midwest, 2020 was the first year-to-year decline since E2 and Clean Energy Trust began tracking Midwest clean energy jobs. At one point, more than 131,600 Midwest clean energy workers had filed for unemployment, but the sector surged back 10.7 percent in the second half of the year to recover more than half of the jobs initially lost. The final 2020 job numbers represent an 8.9 percent drop in the Midwest clean energy workforce from 2019, or 66,100 jobs. Last year’s job losses were a dramatic change of pace for the industry. Last year’s job losses were a dramatic change of pace for the industry. In the 3 years leading up to 2020, for example, clean energy jobs grew almost 4 times as fast as overall employment.

MIDWEST HIGHLIGHTS

• Energy Efficiency – 470,651 jobs
• Clean Vehicles – 90,652 jobs
• Renewable Energy – 84,881  jobs
• Grid & Storage – 24,209 jobs
• Clean Fuels – 7,525 jobs
• ALL Clean Energy Sectors – 677,918 jobs

OTHER KEY FINDINGS

The biggest sector of the Midwest’s clean energy industry is energy efficiency, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the region’s clean energy jobs. But as more automakers and their suppliers continue to shift to electric vehicles, the advanced transportation sector saw a job increase of 3 percent across the region, with growth in most states. The sector added nearly 3,000 new jobs for a total of more than 90,000 workers.

Among clean energy subsectors, wind power, hybrid cars, and electric vehicles were the region’s brightest spots. Wind energy jobs in the region grew by more than 4 percent to 37,800 workers and the number of hybrid vehicle manufacturing employees grew by 6 percent to 43,000 workers. Electric vehicle (EV) jobs grew by an even healthier 8.5 percent, and are poised for future growth with supportive policies and significant commitments to EVs by major regional employers such as Ford and GM.

Clean energy jobs are found in every corner of the region. While big cities like Chicago (81,707), Detroit (50,229), and Minneapolis (34,958) were some of the largest hubs for clean energy jobs, more than one in five — or more than 143,800 — jobs are in rural areas.

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The complete report along with interactive breakdowns for all states is available at this link.

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E2 Action Alert: Support The California Climate Crisis Act (AB 1395)

Please review this E2 action alert letter and add your e-signature by using the fields below and clicking the ADD YOUR SIGNATURE button. Note that your are signing on as an individual and not as a representative of your employer.

Deadline to sign on is Sunday, August 15, 2021

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