Making stored carbon farming’s next cash crop is vital to U.S. climate battle WASHINGTON – America’s farms were struggling just to make a profit even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but long-ignored soil practices could provide new revenue opportunities and long-term profitability for thousands of hard-hit farms across the U.S., according to a new report from […]
Our current Administration and many in Congress are committed to bring about the clean energy, climate resilient and equitable economy that is desperately needed, nothing is certain, and timing is urgent. Please join E2 in a conversation with Senator Tom Carper and Congressman Paul Tonko, to explore how we can move quickly to mitigate the […]
Most initiatives to fight climate change today focus on reducing fossil fuel emissions from electricity generation, transportation, and buildings. But to avoid the worst impacts of climate change we must also significantly reduce the atmospheric carbon that has already been emitted. While efforts are underway to develop new and high tech mechanisms to accomplish this, there is an immediately available and economically viable pathway for atmospheric carbon removal—one that provides a compelling new value proposition for farmers to revitalize their soils and get paid for doing it.
Regenerative agriculture methods such as cover cropping, crop rotation, low-till or no-till practices, and reduced reliance on fossil-fuel based inputs can mitigate climate change by drawing down atmospheric CO2 and sequestering that carbon in the soil, while improving microbial soil health, and increasing soil fertility, crop yield and resilience. These practices also produce multiple additional economic and environmental benefits.
For most of the past decade, agriculture has been one of the most challenging sectors of the U.S. economy. American farmers have had to endure plummeting crop prices, trade-war tariffs, rising costs for inputs like fertilizer, and increasing crop and livestock losses from extreme weather events and less predictable growing seasons—an estimated 85% of U.S. crop losses are due to extreme weather events. Then came COVID-19, disrupting supply chains, upending markets such as restaurants, schools, and institutional food, and further dimming farmers’ prospects with a likely extended recession. According to the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri, net farm income could plunge by 19% ($20 billion) in 2020.
But climate-smart agriculture and soil carbon drawdown are in the nascent stages of ushering in a potentially gamechanging chapter in 21st century agriculture. Through strategic direction of Farm Bill funds and other state and federal policies, partnerships with private sector companies seeking to go carbon-negative, and increased consumer demand for low-carbon food, fiber and fuel, regenerative cultivation practices can deliver four significant economic, environmental, and political opportunities for the U.S. farm economy.
Climate-smart agricultural practices offer a path to economic recovery and long-term profitability for hard-hit farmers by delivering increased and more consistent crop yields, reduced costs for inputs (fertilizer, fuel, pesticides) and crop insurance, and the opportunity to participate in markets for soil-based carbon removal. ‘Reduced carbon’ or ‘negative carbon’ crop outputs and the products derived from them may also have increased market value as consumer awareness and demand increases for products with these attributes.3 Healthier soils also make farms and ranches more resilient in the face of increasingly common extreme weather events.
“Ag tech” is one of the fastest-growing technology sectors, with investors from across the financial sector funding startup companies creating highly skilled jobs in technologies such as microbial soil additives, advanced sensors, drones, monitoring software, GPS mapping, genomics, AI, and data analytics. The demand for accurate soil data measurement and analysis is strong, and college programs to train new ag tech professionals are growing throughout the Farm Belt. Additional innovation is taking place in the creation of agricultural carbon trading platforms, establishing carbon as a new farm commodity.
While storing carbon from the atmosphere in agricultural soils can be a key factor in the battle against climate change, the practices that sequester carbon also deliver a wide range of other environmental benefits—including improved water quality and conservation, improved air quality, greater biodiversity, and reduced toxic inputs. Markets and other opportunities that monetize these practices are emerging, creating new revenue streams for farmers and ranchers across the U.S.
Support for policies to incentivize agricultural carbon sequestration has bridged the historically contentious divide between the environmental and agricultural communities because the practices that restore and enhance soil carbon produce both economic benefits for farmers and natural resource benefits to society. In 2017, for instance, an unprecedented coalition of environmental, business, and farm industry groups helped forge and recruit bipartisan Congressional support for the Soil Health Demonstration Trial in the 2018 Farm Bill, a key soil health enhancement and soil carbon measurement program. Since then, numerous policies building on that provision have been proposed at the state and federal levels by lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle, as diverse stakeholders recognize the benefits of valuing agricultural carbon removal.
Healthy Soils and the Climate Connection: A Path to Economic Recovery on America’s Farms provides a roadmap for how climate-smart agriculture policies could provide profit boosts for farmers and climate wins for advocates.
E2: Actions will help displaced oil and gas workers and get more jobs in low income and communities of color WASHINGTON (January 27, 2021) – Today, President Biden is announcing sweeping climate plans that include a moratorium on new federal oil and gas leases on public land, directs government to ramp up procurement of clean energy and […]
Clean business group E2 echoed many of those proposals, along with an administration measure that encourages federal procurements of clean energy technologies. “As we look to the first 100 days of the administration, it is essential that President Biden follow through on his commitment to make clean energy the cornerstone of COVID-19 recovery efforts,” wrote […]
E2: Congress needs to join the mission of building back a cleaner, better economy WASHINGTON (January 20, 2021) – Joe Biden will be sworn in today as the 46th President of the United States, bringing much needed change as the nation faces some of the toughest economic and environmental challenges in recent history. The following […]
RGGI is an important and effective tool for addressing climate change, reduce health impacts of air pollution and generating millions of dollars of annual proceeds from the sale of auctions to invest in programs that can save consumers money invest in cleaner, more energy efficient communities.
The Transportation and Climate Initiative is a once in a generation opportunity to transform New York’s transportation system, cut carbon pollution and invest in communities and better transportation options.
The economy has lost more than 450,000 jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency since the pandemic began, even after employment increases in recent months, according to data released Wednesday by E2, E4TheFuture, the American Council on Renewable Energy, and BW Research Partnership. In Virginia, the RMI and Energy Innovation scenario forecasts the addition of […]
Statements from seven businesses and organizations opposed to HB 6233 LANSING (December 7, 2020) – At the very end of this year’s lame-duck session, Michigan state lawmakers are quietly considering a reckless new bill that directly prohibits the promotion, sale, and servicing of electric vehicles (EV) in Michigan by EV manufacturers – a blow to the […]
Primed to Lead Washington’s Economic RecoveryAt the onset of 2020, Washington’s clean energy economy was coming off another year of solid growth, further establishing itself as the backbone—and future—of the Evergreen State’s energy sector. With more than 85,000 clean energy workers, the state ranked 13th for clean energy employment. Illustrating the important role this sector plays in Washington’s economy, the clean energy industry accounts for more than 25% of all construction jobs in the state. Importantly, these jobs’ wages and benefits compare favorably to other industries; E2’s recent Clean Jobs, Better Jobs report shows that the median wage for Washington’s clean energy economy pays nearly 11% more than the state’s overall median wage.
But following five straight years of job growth, Washington’s clean energy economy has been derailed by the economic recession driven by COVID-19. state policymakers have a central role to play as well. Tremendous job creation can be delivered by staying the course on implementation of existing clean energy policy, prime among them Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act. To ensure continued recovery and economic development in the years to come, state lawmakers should adopt additional policies in 2021 to drive investment and job growth in the clean energy economy. These policy opportunities—including a clean fuels program, clean truck standards, a state-wide limit on carbon pollution, and carbon pricing—can drive strong investments in climate solutions across the state. If well-designed, these and other policies have the potential to leverage Washington’s clean energy economy as an engine for broader economic recovery. Through October, more than 17,000 clean energy workers—almost one-fifth of Washington’s clean energy workforce pre-COVID—remain out of work.
Clean Jobs Washington 2020 comes at a critical juncture in the state’s efforts to recover from the COVID-19 health and economic crises. With the Washington state Legislature set to reconvene in January, policymakers will have the opportunity to leverage clean energy as an engine for broader economy recovery by enacting policies to get clean energy back on its growth trajectory. Policies such as a clean fuels program, clean truck standards, a state-wide limit on carbon pollution, and carbon pricing can drive investments in climate solutions and bring robust economic growth across the state.
This report details the size, scope, and diversity of this core Washington state employment sector, the troubles it is currently facing due to the pandemic, and the promise that strategic policy direction and stimulus investments in clean energy hold to drive a durable and sustainable recovery for Washington’s economy. In addition to detailing sector-by-sector employment, Clean Jobs Washington 2020 also breaks down jobs at the city, county, legislative and congressional district levels. See more details here.
This report focuses solely on the energy sector of the economy and does not include jobs in retail trade, repair services, water or waste management, and indirect employment or induced employment.
The complete report is available for download at this link.
This report follows E2’s Clean Jobs America analysis which found the clean energy jobs account for nearly 3.3 million jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Both reports expand on data from the U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), using data collected and analyzed by the BW Research Partnership. E2 is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016.
If you are looking for additional insight into E2’s Clean Jobs Washington 2019 or our other Clean Jobs America reports, visit e2.org/reports. You can also contact E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]). An FAQ is also available here to answer any questions.
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Energy Efficiency (EE)—the largest U.S. energy sector—can repower America’s economy as we work to overcome the economic effects of the pandemic. As lawmakers and policymakers seek to get America back to work after the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, every job matters. From 2015 to 2019, the energy efficiency sector became one of the biggest, fastest-growing, and most beneficial sectors for both our economy and our environment.
This report details the size of this important employment sector, the troubles it is facing due to COVID-19, and how focusing recovery policies on efficiency can help boost America’s economy— quickly and for the long run.
The 20210 Energy Efficiency Jobs in America report includes an 11-page national summary and individual factsheets for all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia that include more detailed findings including job totals for every congressional and legislative district, industry and technology breakdowns, and maps of every state’s top counties.
This annual report focuses solely on the energy sector of the economy. Jobs in retail trade, vehicle efficiency-related work, and the 4.2 million jobs related to efficient manufacturing processes are excluded from these numbers.
To download the national summary, click here or the report cover above.
For all 51 individual factsheets, visit https://ee.e4thefuture.org/ or .
For questions on this report, methodology, reported job numbers, or requests for specific additional data, email E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]). An FAQ for the report, including answers to questions on methodology, is available here.
If you are looking for additional insight into E4TheFuture and E2’s other research and publications on the energy economy, visit E4TheFuture’s Publications homepage or E2’s Reports homepage.
This report follows E2’s Clean Jobs America analysis which found the clean energy jobs account for nearly 3.4 million jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Both reports expand on data from the U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), using data collected and analyzed by the BW Research Partnership. E2 and E4TheFuture is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016.
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