Green Prosperity - 1 Million New Green Jobs

An important and insightful report was released today by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), in partnership with Green for All and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The report ("Green Prosperity") looked at the economic, environmental and social impacts of investing about $150 billion per year in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies.
That number includes funding from the federal stimulus package signed into law in February as well as the proposals in the Waxman-Markey climate bill that is currently making its way through Congress
As noted by the report’s authors, the United States faces an enormous challenge-successfully managing the transformation from a carbon-intensive economy to becoming a predominantly clean-energy-based economy. This economic transformation will engage a huge range of people and activities. It is crucial for economic policymakers and the American people to understand the likely effects of the activities and policies enacted.

This report examines these broader economic considerations-jobs, incomes, and economic growth-through the lens of two government initiatives this year by the Obama administration and Congress. The first is the set of clean-energy provisions incorporated within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The second is the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act which is now before Congress. The analysis shows that these measures operating together can generate roughly $150 billion per year in new clean-energy investments in the United States over the next decade. This estimated $150 billion in new spending annually includes government funding but is notably dominated by private-sector investments.
The authors estimate this sustained expansion in clean-energy investments triggered by the economic stimulus program and the forthcoming American Clean Energy and Security Act can generate a net increase of about 1.7 million jobs.

This expansion in job opportunities can continue as long as the economy maintains a commitment to clean-energy investments in the $150 billion per year range. If clean-energy investments expand still faster, overall job creation will increase correspondingly. These investment could, therefore, not only guide us out of our fossil-fuel dependent crisis, but serve as a powerful engine of economic recovery and long-term economic vigor in the U.S.