Clean energy jobs pay better, can be tool for equity, says Brookings report The Green New Deal has been championed as a means to address the nation?s lack of infrastructure spending, in addition to being a way to fight climate change.
Now, according to a Brookings Institution study released this morning analyzing the growth in clean energy jobs, such as retrofitting buildings or installing renewable energy systems, this type of initiative can also be a big benefit to workers. A big move towards funding and investing in more sustainable infrastructure and renewable power would be a boon for the construction industry and other trades. With great potential to promote more equitable pay and opportunity, a Green New Deal could be as much about economic health as it is about environmental benefits. ?Advancing Inclusion Through Clean Energy Jobs? takes as a given that a transition to cleaner energy is taking place. By looking at the workforce requirements for such a transition, and placing it in the context of the broad conversations taking place to shape the Green New Deal, it hopes to provides some facts and figures to inform this transition.
Overall, green jobs are good-paying jobs, according to the report. Mean hourly wages for such work exceed the national average by 8 to 19 percent, and workers at the lower-ends of the income spectrum also tend to earn more, up to $5 to $10 an hour, suggesting these industries are more equitable when it comes to fair pay.
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