Offshore wind energy presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance this mission if developed in an environmentally responsible manner, with high road labor standards and attention to environmental justice. We thank BOEM for its diligent efforts to advance offshore wind in the U.S. and attention to doing it right, in a way that lifts up the working class with family-sustaining union jobs, delivers benefits for communities that are hardest hit by climate change and economic inequality, and protects wildlife, critical habitat, and our nation’s natural resources. 

The U.S. Senate yesterday voted to ratify the Kigali Amendment Montreal Protocol. The amendment phases down production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—powerful climate pollutants and is expected to avoid up to 0.5℃ of warming by 2100. 

The BlueGreen Alliance today announced the United Auto Workers (UAW) will join its growing national labor-environmental partnership and its fight for a clean, prosperous, and equitable economy. The announcement comes at a vital time in the domestic auto industry. The industry is at a crossroads, with the United States poised to be a global leader in clean vehicle and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing—helping to bring back high-skill, high-wage, union jobs.

The Advanced Energy Manufacturing & Recycling Grant Program offers a critical opportunity to support the creation and retention of good union jobs in communities facing economic hardships related to coal facility closures while addressing climate change and reducing toxic pollution.

Today the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Climate Policy Office (CPO) will announce new actions under the Federal Buy Clean Initiative to spur the development of low-carbon construction materials. Ahead of the announcement, the BlueGreen Alliance released a new white paper entitled Buy Clean: A Tool to Create Good Jobs, Cut Pollution, and Renew Manufacturing.

There are a number of ways that Buy Clean helps to ensure that government spending on infrastructure projects reduces pollution, revitalizes American manufacturing, and benefits workers and communities. Here are just a few, explored in more detail in a report entitled Buy Clean: A Tool to Create Good Jobs, Cut Pollution, and Renew Manufacturing:

Two new reports released by Global Efficiency Intelligence (GEI) add to the evidence that policies prioritizing clean manufacturing can be a win-win-win for clean air, worker and community health, and good union jobs. The reports—which were commissioned by the Sierra Club in partnership with BlueGreen Alliance—compare air pollution levels from steel and cement production in various countries. 

The BlueGreen Alliance along with the Utility Workers of Union of America (UWUA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) submitted comments to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding the impacts and process of decommissioning currently operating nuclear reactors across the United States.

The White House and U.S. Department of Energy today released a national Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap. The roadmap lays out a plan to reduce emissions in the industrial sector, which as of 2020 accounted for nearly one-third of greenhouse gas emissions.

Offshore wind energy presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance this mission if developed in an environmentally responsible manner, with high road labor standards and attention to environmental justice. Robust NEPA analysis plays an integral role in guiding offshore wind development and ensuring the industry realizes its transformative potential as a solution to the intersecting environmental, health, and economic crises of our time.

The United States Climate Alliance (USCA), in partnership with the BlueGreen Alliance, released the Just and Equitable Transition State Policy Framework and an accompanying Resource Guide to assist policymakers as they create legislation for the United States’ transition to cleaner, cheaper sources of energy.

U.S. Representative Elaine Luria (VA-02) joined labor, environmental, and civic leaders for a facility tour of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 110 (UA Local 110) School in Chesapeake. A press conference preceded the tour and featured Rep. Luria and speakers from organized labor and environmental organizations in Virginia.