On March 10, just before the COVID-19 crisis swept across the country, Oregon Governor Kate Brown made climate action history. By signing an ambitious and far-reaching executive order, Governor Brown positioned Oregon to reduce the emissions driving climate change from a broad range of sources across the Oregon economy while priming the state’s clean energy economy for […]
More than a year’s worth of job gains erased in a few weeks Analysis forecasts industry could lose more than 500K jobs in months ahead CA, NC, PA, MA, MI, NY, OH, TX, WA, IL among hardest hit states More than 106,000 clean energy workers lost their jobs in the month of March, and hundreds of thousands […]
More than 106,000 clean energy workers lost their jobs in the month of March alone, wiping out all the job gains in renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean vehicles and other clean energy sectors in 2019, according to an analysis of unemployment data by BW Research for E2.
The March layoffs were just the first indication of how badly the clean energy industry has been hit by the COVID-19 and economic crises. Much bigger job cuts are expected in the months ahead—making it imperative that Congress and state lawmakers seek ways to get the industry back on its feet, especially since clean energy has a proven history of helping pull the country out of economic crises.
What had been one the nation’s fastest-growing jobs sectors at the start of the year by March was experiencing significant job losses every week.
The job losses are across a wide variety of occupations, and in every state. Energy efficiency workers are losing their jobs after being shut out of homes and buildings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Solar and wind turbine companies are laying off workers as they’re unable to access panels and parts stranded in shut-down factories and as financing disappears. Factory workers are being let go as assembly lines for Energy Star appliances and electric and hybrid vehicles are ground to a halt.
The complete report is available for download at this link.
A live press conference was held announcing the report’s findings on April 15, featuring:
To download and listen to the one-hour press conference, click here.
The analysis expands on data from the 2020 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. The report was released in March 2020 and is available at www.usenergyjobs.org. E2 is a partner on the USEER, the fifth installment of the energy survey first released by the Department of Energy in 2016 and subsequently abandoned under the Trump administration.
If you are looking for additional insight into this report or E2’s more than a dozen other annual clean energy employment reports, visit e2.org/reports. You can also contact E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake ([email protected]).
"*" indicates required fields
NEW YORK (April 2, 2020) – Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, the New York State Legislature has agreed to a fiscal year 2021 budget that includes a major provision to boost clean energy and get the state’s economy on track for recovery. The inclusion of the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth & Community Benefit Act will help […]
Now, through a fellowship from the organization E2 (Environmental Entrepreneuers), Deylami will help dealers learn more about and promote electric vehicles. E2, an organization of investors and business leaders promoting smart energy policies, awarded 10 $20,000 fellowships to young U.S. business leaders nationwide. The only other Midwest recipient is Grant Behnke of Columbus, Ohio, who […]
Rollback threatens 740,000 US jobs in cleaner, fuel-efficient vehicles WASHINGTON, DC (March 31, 2020) – The Trump administration today finalized its plan to roll back the popular Obama-era fuel economy standards, reversing the federal government’s largest effort to fight climate change impacts. Following is a statement from Sandra Purohit, director of federal advocacy for the […]
The $2 trillion stimulus package announced Wednesday by congressional leadership will send badly needed emergency checks to struggling American families and make loans available for businesses to stay afloat and protect jobs. With Americans from every corner of our economy out of work and struggling, it’s a much-needed lifeline. Now, lawmakers must quickly turn their […]
Reaction from U.S. clean energy business execs and E2 WASHINGTON, DC (March 25, 2020) – Today, congressional leadership announced a $2 trillion economic stimulus package as part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis. Following is a statement from Bob Keefe, executive director of the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs): “Congress threw a […]
The economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis is hurting businesses, workers and industries from coast to coast. Among the hard-hit sectors is the clean energy sector, which employs more than 3.4 million Americans and is essential to our nation’s transition to a clean economy. In addition to other critical needs, we urge congress to provide […]
We need federal leadership to guide climate-smart investments and projects. Instead, the Trump administration is proposing to turn a blind eye to the potential negative climate impacts of future projects, which will undermine businesses. Ignoring climate impacts when assessing projects will undercut more responsible and better-planned proposals. As a result, it will hurt those that […]
The Trump Administration is proposing draconian rollbacks to economic and environmental protections under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We have until next Tuesday, March 10, 2020 to formally oppose changes that would allow the government to ignore climate impacts, weaken environmental reviews and would make it harder to challenge government and industry projects when they […]
Cities have always been at the forefront of creating good jobs and opportunities for businesses and good places to live for their residents. With the challenges of the climate crisis upon us, cities are now helping lead America with innovative policies to reduce carbon emissions, make buildings and transportation networks more efficient and expand opportunities […]