Around the country, there are courageous leaders in the fight to address climate change, but few are as outspoken or have taken such strong, decisive action as California Governor Jerry Brown. From smartly implementing AB32 — the state’s landmark law to address climate change and create good jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency — to implementing a 33 percent renewable energy standard by 2020, Brown’s leadership on climate has been strong and undeterred by critics. 

Brown isn’t afraid to tell people how he sees things. Just yesterday, he said that the early wildfire season in the state was due to the changing climate. From the Los Angeles Times:

Our climate is changing, the weather is becoming more intense,” Brown said in an airplane hangar filled with trucks, airplanes and helicopters used by the state to fight fires. “It’s going to cost a lot of money and a lot of lives. 

“The big issue (is) how do we adapt,” Brown said, “because it doesn’t look like the people who are in charge are going to do what it takes to really slow down this climate change, so we are going to have to adapt. And adapting is going to be very, very expensive.” 

With the snowpack in the Sierra mountains at just 17% of normal, state officials are bracing for a long, destructive fire season. State Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, who joined Brown at Monday’s press conference, said he was preparing for “a deadly year.”

Brown also says that because of a lack of action in Congress, the state must take expensive steps to adapt. He argues that the state must show restraint in the budgeting process to have the funds to deal with this growing crisis in the long-term. 

Lacking real leadership at the federal level, states and cities are doing great things to reduce carbon pollution and get their communities prepared for climate change. However, that is far from an ideal solution. We’re lucky to have leaders like Governor Brown that aren’t waiting for Congress to pull their heads out of the sand and realize that it is their communities — and their constituents — that will bear the brunt of climate change in the form of extreme weather, droughts, floods, and, yes, wildfires. 

There’s still time for us to protect ourselves from the impacts of climate change. We need immediate action at the federal level to both address climate change by reducing carbon pollution AND investments to our infrastructure to update it to be more efficient and prepared for the worst climate change will have to offer. Doing this will help our environment — cleaning up our air, water and soil — and our economy by creating good jobs for American workers.

This blog is by Simeon Grant, Executive Director of Green Technical Education & Employment. It is cross-posted from the 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference blog. The conference will be happening April 16-18 in Washington, D.C. Reserve your spot today!

California recently held its first cap-and-trade auction in its attempt to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by major corporations. The initial auction raised $55.8 million. If this process is successful, California hopes to raise more than $200 million annually.

The state Air Resources Board and the legislature are currently determining where this revenue will go. While many of the stakeholders are haggling over which projects should be funded to reduce GHGs, it seems our youth are conspicuously absent from these conversations, especially youth from communities of color.

Without a doubt, any environmentally-friendly projects that spring from this new system in California, and all others throughout this nation, should include youth with specified training and environmental design, with an emphasis on career opportunities.

The legislature continues to debate where the funding should go, but it seems to prohibit technical training. California should nurture its future by investing on the people who will be forced to implement these burgeoning environmental policies — our children.

We’re Conveners of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference, April 16-18 in Washington, D.C., because we believe that building a dialogue about climate change, how we can address it, and how we train youth and other workers to be part of this new, clean economy is vital to the future of our country. 

The following post is from Stephanie Hernandez, Communications Intern for the BlueGreen Alliance.

Taking bold and necessary leadership, U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced the formation of a Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change this week. The bicameral Task Force on Climate Change already includes Representative Ed Markey and Senator Barbara Boxer and more members are expected to join. The formation of this task force is an important step forward as we work together to elevate the important issue of climate change. In the months and year ahead, this is a dialogue that must take place not only in the halls of Congress, but also around the dinner table, amongst friends and family colleagues and beyond.

Both Congressman Waxman and Senator Whitehouse have been known for their work surrounding the topic of the environment. Congressman Waxman knows all too well the struggles on behalf of the environment, having advocated on its behalf for a long time. As a native Californian, Waxman is a leader of environmental and public health protection for number of years. Representative Waxman helped introduce the first bill in Congress to stabilize the climate in 1992. Currently, Waxman is the Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. His past experiences will allow him to be a successful leader in this task force.

Senator Whitehouse is also an outspoken voice on environment policy. As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has made an effort to protect our environment, including ocean and marine ecosystems. He is known for his advocacy for urgent action in addressing the threat of climate change, specifically its impact on coastal communities. His current memberships range from Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee to Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, making him a powerful voice to lead this task force.

Both men’s leadership on this new task force in conjunction with their experiences as leaders in the environment will shine light onto the issue of climate change. It is important for Congress to be a part of responding to this call for action.

Curbing carbon pollution, expanding the use of renewable energy sources, and addressing the deficits in our infrastructure — while creating millions of jobs — must all be part of a comprehensive strategy to address climate change. We look forward to putting our heads together along with Congress, the President and other key leaders, as we work toward a solution on one of the most important issues of our time. The time is now, to create a movement towards better energy and water infrastructure and climate change policies. 

As we confront a continuing unemployment crisis, clean energy manufacturing offers an important opportunity to create good jobs for Californians. The California economy has shown promise in the realm of green manufacturing, and green jobs have grown faster than California’s economy as a whole.

The latest data for California shows that 27 percent of green jobs in the state are in manufacturing, and green manufacturing jobs increased by one percent in 2009 while California’s economy as a whole registered a seven percent decrease in employment. In California, people of color have increasingly benefitted from manufacturing jobs, which is important because people of color are overrepresented within the ranks of the unemployed.

Today, California remains the leading manufacturing state in the United States, and the nation remains in a neck-and-neck race with China for the claim of being the world’s leading manufacturer.

California and the United States need an improved public policy framework to do a better job of attracting these investments. For that reason the BlueGreen Apollo Alliance California developed the California Green Manufacturing Action Plan.

The plan’s recommendations — which were developed by a task force representing manufacturer, investor, labor and environmental perspectives — is meant to give state policymakers a roadmap for attracting clean energy manufacturing enterprises, and the good jobs they create, to California. The recommendations address a number of issues on the “supply-side of the green manufacturing equation” including:

• Improving access to capital for clean energy manufacturers;
• Streamlining existing state resources and permitting processes;
• Encouraging research and development efforts;
• Ensuring California has a well-trained workforce;
• Enabling small-and medium-sized clean energy manufacturers; and
• Improving federal clean energy manufacturing policy.

As demand for clean energy products continues to surge – in California and globally – now is the time to capitalize on California’s manufacturing leadership and maximize family-supporting job creation in our clean energy manufacturing sector. By taking the steps laid out in the California BlueGreen Apollo Green Manufacturing Action Plan, we can accelerate job growth and help the clean energy sector lead the way back to full employment, a cleaner environment, and more secure energy future.

Tuesday, on the day the state of California achieved a milestone by launching it’s first ever cap-and-trade auction (see our statement of support), a new poll was released that showed that voters in three Western states have significant support for clean energy and innovative infrastructure. The poll was made public at Greenbuild 2012 in San Francisco, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, and was conducted on behalf of the BlueGreen Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Ceres, and the U.S. Green Building Council by Lake Research Partners. 

According to the poll, 56 percent of voters in Washington, Oregon and California favor a proposal to “reduce climate pollution and invest in clean energy by charging large companies for the pollution they create that contributes to climate change.” Only 20 percent oppose it, while 24 percent are undecided. Additionally, voters were overwhelmingly in favor of updating America’s innovative infrastructure, with 71 percent in favor of clean fuels, electric vehicles, bus rapid transit and commuter rail. 

Voters said they support these efforts because they believe we have a responsibility for future generations and that investments in clean energy and infrastructure can provide good middle class jobs that won’t be outsourced to other countries. 

Looking at the graph below, it’s clear there is tremendous support for clean energy and innovation infrastructure investments.

The clean economy and the infrastructure to power it are going to be at the forefront of economic growth long into our future. Seeing that people recognize that, as well as the economic opportunity growing clean energy and innovative infrastructure will provide, is heartening. 

Now, we need to make sure our elected leaders hear our voices in support of policies that will spur growth, like the Production Tax Credit for wind energy and other vital tax incentives for clean energy. Please take a moment and urge your members of Congress to extend the Production Tax Credit to save American jobs now, create American jobs for the future, and ensure we leave a better environment and economy for future generations of Americans. 

Yesterday, environmental and local leaders gathered in San Francisco to urge voters to reject Proposition 32 — a billionaire-backed ballot measure that would silence the voices of working people in the political process. At the event, Michael Brune, Sierra Club's Executive Director, announced the Sierra Club's strong opposition to Prop 32 and  noted, “Backed by out-of-state billionaires like the Koch Brothers, who see California's clean energy progress as a threat, Prop 32 would silence the voices of our state's working families who share our vision for good clean energy jobs and clean air and water.”

During the event, Victor Menotti, Executive Director of the International Fourm on Globalization released a report that highlights the anti-labor and clean energy agenda of some of the largest funders of Prop 32, the Koch Brothers. The report found the Koch Brothers had spent:

• $1 million in 2010 to overturn AB 32 
• $4 million through the American Future Fund to support Proposition 32
• At least $656 million on attacks on environmental protections and workers’ rights

Other local and state environmental leaders who spoke at the event were Jenessee Miller, Communications Director for the California League of Conservation Voters; Roger Kim, Executive Director for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network; and Laura Wisland, Senior Energy Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists; and Lisa Hoyos, California Director for the BlueGreen Alliance.

The Labor's Edge blog did a feature on the event. From the blog.

Menotti was joined by other academics who underscored the fact that anyone who respects science, the environment, workers and the truth should immediately recognize the Kochs and Prop 32 as an enemy to all of the above.

Laura Wisland of the Union for Concerned Scientists:

"These overt, well-funded attacks on labor rights are in the same realm as the overt, well-funded attacks on science -- and both, if successful, will weaken our democracy. Make no mistake: Prop 32 would be the first step in a renewed effort to kill California’s environmental advances and threaten hundreds of thousands of green-technology and clean-energy jobs. The Union of Concerned Scientists sees through this phony reform of Prop 32 for what it really is – a way for corporations to buy a Legislature that will roll back California’s environmental advances, reduce the rights of workers and silence the voices of Californians."

Check out the video from the event below:

New Chart and Graphic Shows State-By-State Breakdown of Jobs Created, Gasoline Saved, Net Savings to Consumers and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction 

With the imminent Obama Administration announcement of historic fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles (54.5 miles per gallon, on average, by 2025), the BlueGreen Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council have assembled a detailed accounting of the huge benefits that are projected to accrue by the year 2030. 

The data include a state-by-state breakdown of the 570,000 jobs that could be created in the United States by 2030 — as well as other benefits from the standard. In addition to the jobs created, the country will save nearly 23 billion of gasoline in 2030 alone, resulting in $54 billion in net savings to consumers and the reduction of 270 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution, which helps cause global warming. 

The upcoming 54.5 mpg standards promise to bolster the strong automobile recovery we are seeing today. The chart and graphics with state-by-state numbers can be found below. Click them to see the larger version.

2030 State Benefits of Achieving 54.5 mpg-equivalent Fleet Average in Model Year 2025 

Sources: Natural Resources Defense Council and BlueGreen Alliance

• State fuel and pollution savings are from analysis by NRDC. These figures update and augment similar tables provided in NRDC’s “Relieving Pain at the Pump” publication from April 2012. Main adjustments include updates to fuel prices and vehicle miles traveled per the latest forecasts in the Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2012.
• State jobs figures are from BlueGreen Alliance’s analysis for “Gearing Up: Smart Standards Create Good Jobs Building Cleaner Cars”, June 2012. 

Table 1: Jobs Created and Annual Consumer Savings of Model Year 2017 to 2025 Standards in 2030

For additional background information on the new fuel efficiency standards, see http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/plehner/obama_administration_set_to_fi.html. 

Reducing energy waste  is a cornerstone of the BlueGreen Alliance's Jobs21! plan — our effort to create and keep jobs in the industries of the 21st century, including energy efficiency, manufacturing, transporation, renewable energy, broadband Internet, smart grid, recycling, and producing greener and safer chemicals and products.  

It’s often said making the homes we live in is one of the “low hanging fruit” to building a more sustainable America. To try to move the needle on home energy efficiency, the BlueGreen Alliance Apollo Alliance Project — along with CalCef and the UC Berkeley Labor Center — released a report outlining new strategies for uniting private and public investment to unlock savings (and jobs) making homes more energy efficient. The report, entitled Pulling the Trigger: Increasing Home Energy Savings, recommends a set of initiatives the public and private sectors can take to help homeowners take advantage of home update opportunities that will make their domiciles more energy efficient, saving them money.

These “triggers” can be taken advantage of by increasing perspective buyers’  awareness of the energy costs and efficiency of their perspective home; customizing existing energy efficiency incentive programs to better serve homeowners; enforcing stricter standards and permitting requirements; having utilities include warnings on the long-term costs of high-tier rates and offering consumers that remain in upper energy rate tier rates energy efficiency upgrades to reduce their consumption; and developing modification to mortgage financing that incentivize and incorporate energy efficiency efforts.

The report focuses on California, but provides a roadmap that can be used throughout the country  to increase energy efficiency, reducing costs for homeowners and creating jobs for workers.

The following post is by BlueGreen Alliance intern Natasha Patel.

On Friday California lawmakers in San Francisco approved billions of dollars in construction financing for the nation’s first high-speed rail line that would connect Los Angeles to San Francisco.

The approval from the state Senate followed intense lobbying from Governor Jerry Brown and various Democratic leaders, environmental, and labor groups throughout California.

The bill while controversial to some due to an extensive budget of $68 billion, would be a positive step forward towards securing a green future for California.  To accommodate California’s growing population of 37 million, the high-speed rail line would create thousands of jobs in the construction, operations, and maintenance sectors; providing much needed relief from California’s higher than average unemployment rate.

Not only would it bring many jobs to California in those sectors, but traveling throughout the state would be easier for tourists and citizens alike, enhanced by integration with other transportation modes along the line, to include airports and transit systems. By reducing traffic congestion and associated air pollution, these benefits would improve quality of life, result in cleaner air throughout the state, and boost economic productivity, potentially creating more economic and employment growth.

The success of California’s rail line would benefit the nation by catalyzing development of high-speed rail lines and other forms of rail and integrated transit nationwide. This has the potential to create more jobs by expanding the US market for rail and transit infrastructure and vehicles, encouraging further development of these industries and increase U.S competitiveness in the global clean transportation market. 

Investments in high-speed rail infrastructure will contribute billions of dollars to the United States’ net annual gross domestic product and provide billions of dollars in additional worker income and annual tax revenue, spurring additional growth throughout the economy. 

High-speed rail will not only help to maintain and create jobs, it will also move people to and from their jobs. Businesses located near high-speed rail stations with good access to public transportation will experience more employee reliability and less absenteeism and turnover. Employers have a larger labor pool from which to choose, and employees are happier because they are not driving in congestion delays. 

The Transportation Manufacturing Plan (TMAP) details these many benefits of a stronger public transportation system in the U.S, including expanding the domestic production of advanced transit systems, vehicles, clean trucks, and their component parts.

According to TMAP, increasing current federal investment to $30 billion per year for public transit and $10 billion per year for intercity and high-speed rail will create 3.7 million direct and indirect jobs throughout the U.S, greatly strengthening our declining economy while aiding in the fight against global climate change. 

The following post is from Lisa Hoyos, California Director for the BlueGreen Alliance.

Environmental and labor supporters in California today are celebrating the approval of sweeping building energy efficiency standards that are considered to be the strongest in the nation. The standards are expected to increase energy efficiency for commercial buildings by 33%, and in residential buildings by 25%. The standards will employ and expand innovations such as solar ready homes, cool roofs and advanced lighting, heating and cooling systems — creating and maintaining thousands of quality jobs in the process.   

From the Sacramento Bee: 

The Energy Commission says that, since 1978, energy efficiency standards it has approved have saved Californians more than $66 billion in electricity and natural gas costs. 

The amended standards approved today are considered the most sweeping ever. 

"These standards are the strongest in the nation ... giving us the most efficient buildings in the nation," said Commissioner Karen Douglas. "The package that the commission approved is the greatest savings increment that the commission has ever achieved in a standards update in over 30 years." 

The amended standards were developed over many months in meetings with builders, installers, contractors, energy experts, environmental groups, utilities and others. 

The work that was done by BlueGreen Alliance partners and staff to help pass these standards underscores the value of the coalition we bring together. For example, NRDC advocated strongly for ensuring that heating, cooling and advanced lighting systems are installed and inspected by highly trained technicians, who are qualified to ensure that we realize the energy savings that the building codes put on paper. This will support the employment well trained and skilled union workforce — which in turn helps sustain middle class jobs in our state.   

BGA together with our allies and partners worked with with Energy Commissioners and Governor Brown’s office on these building codes to support these strong building codes standards so that we could keep California at the cutting edge of energy efficiency and also so we can grow and maintain quality jobs. The residential standards that were ultimately adopted were weakened slightly from earlier proposals, and together, we asserted that the standards must be aggressive in the next two code cycles (2017 and 2020) in order to ensure we hit our AB 32 (Global Warming Solutions Act) goal of zero net energy by 2020. 

Against the backdrop of gridlock in Congress, this experience underscores the importance of state and local policies that have successful outcomes we saw in California: reducing carbon emissions, expanding efficiency and creating and maintaining quality jobs! It is clear that America to compete and win the race for good jobs in the industries of the 21^st century. These new standards — and the broad support they garnered — are proof of that.