CALIFORNIA DOES NOT NEED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN POST-PANDEMIC ECONOMIC GROWTH AND REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS, NEW ANALYSIS FINDS

State Has Demonstrated The Ability To Generate Green Jobs… And If Current Trends Hold, Green Jobs In CA Will Outpace Nation By End Of Decade

RIVERSIDE, Calif., June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- (www.ucr.edu)—Surprisingly, environmental leader California has a smaller 'green economy' than the average U.S. state and would need to add many thousands of environmentally friendly jobs to catch up. The good news is it's on track to do just that, according to a new analysis released today by the UCR School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development.

The study projects that California will outpace the United States as a whole in its concentration of green jobs by 2030. Moreover, the state will be close to attaining a specialty in green jobs by the end of the decade, a workforce condition that is key to attracting investment, innovation, and further job creation.

While a greener economy will require phasing out employment in traditional energy industries such as oil and gas, an analysis of the entire labor force indicates that replacing those jobs with green energy jobs can be a net-positive, adding to California's total employment and improving average wages.

"The transition to a greener, cleaner economy is not at odds with job creation," said Dr. Patrick Adler, Research Manager at the Center for Economic Forecasting, and one of the report's authors. "This is critical to understand because California is facing dual generational challenges right now – ensuring economic resilience following the shocks set in motion by the pandemic and decarbonizing the economy." The state needs to reduce carbon emissions 40% below 1990 levels in order to meet its own mandated reduction targets by 2030.

The study's authors estimate that California's current green labor force includes an impressive 372,984 workers but the state would need to add over 58,000 more green jobs by decade's end to reach the U.S. state average in terms of concentration. However, if current trends, which show employment curving upwards in key green industries such as Motor Vehicles, hold, the state will realistically achieve that and more. The Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) industry in particular could bring more than 63,000 jobs to California.

The full report, Greening the Golden Workforce: Progress and Pathways Toward Green Jobs Leadership, is available here.

This research was generously supported by Next 10.

Contacts:
Victoria Pike Bond  
415-488-7195
[email protected] 

SOURCE UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development