CALIFORNIA’S CLIMATE GOALS WILL CREATE ONE MILLION NEW JOBS
Investments to meet California’s existing climate goals and to strengthen the state’s infrastructure and agricultural economy will create 1 million new jobs through 2030 as soon as these investments are at full scale. Major new opportunities will open up for electricians, carpenters, ironworkers, bus drivers, teachers, engineers, planners and maintenance workers, to name a few careers.
ONE MILLION JOBS - BROKEN DOWN
These jobs in climate transition, infrastructure and agriculture are a cornerstone of California’s COVID recovery. Other crucial elements of a just recovery from COVID include permanently expanding the provision of high-quality universal health care and ending racial disparities in employment opportunities.
California is already committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2045. Achieving the 2030 goal, along with upgrading the state’s infrastructure and agricultural economy, will require $138 billion per year in combined investments in clean energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, and displaced worker relief programs. Half of total spending, or about $70 billion per year, could be provided by private investors, and half through public spending.
CREATING GOOD UNION JOBS
These job opportunities will expand California’s workforce by more than 5% of total employment from 2019. It will be critical to ensure that these are good-quality jobs, in terms of compensation, benefits (health care, paid sick leave, retirement etc), access to union representation (including card check agreements), and training opportunities as needed. Local and targeted hire provisions are necessary to ensure equitable access by race and gender to these expanding job opportunities.
BUILD CALIFORNIA BACK BETTER
Job Creation in California’s Clean Energy Transition
Investments will dramatically expand the supply of clean renewable energy—including solar, wind, and geothermal— and improve energy efficiency in California’s buildings, automobiles, public transportation systems, and industrial production processes.
Investing $76 billion per year in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in California over 2021 – 2030 will generate 40% of new jobs, an average of 418,000 jobs per year in the state.
Private sector would account for 90% of clean energy investments, public sector 10%.
New job opportunities will be created in a wide range of areas, including construction (electricians, carpenters, plumbers, laborers, welders), public transportation, engineering, sales, management, production, and office support.
Current average total compensation in these occupations mostly range between $70,000 - $95,000 per year.
Job Creation in Manufacturing, Public Infrastructure & Agriculture to help meet emission reduction targets
In 2018, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave an overall grade of C- to California’s public infrastructure.
Public investments of $62 billion per year in manufacturing, critical infrastructure upgrades, land restoration and agriculture will generate 60% of new jobs, an average of 626,000 jobs per year in California.
Investments include universal broadband access; expansion and upgrading of public buildings, including schools and university campuses; water management; repairing leaky gas pipelines; closing orphaned oil and gas wells; regenerative agriculture; farmland conservation and resources for marginalized farmers.
Major areas of job expansion will be in freight moving (30%), construction (24%), and public sector employment (14%). Jobs will expand for electricians, pipelayers, drivers, water treatment plant operators, educators, recreation workers, administrative assistants and bookkeeping clerks, and for farm, forestry, and conservation workers.
Compensation in these occupations span a wide range, from $150,000 - $190,000 per year on the high end for work remediating oil wells and repairing gas pipelines, to the mid-range of $85,000 per year for water systems work, to the lower end of $26,000-30,000 per year for farmworkers and recreation workers.
Public Sector Job Creation: Almost 100,000 new jobs
A robust public sector is critical to ensure safe and effective build out of clean energy, manufacturing and infrastructure upgrades across the state. These jobs tend to be good jobs with higher-than-average unionization rates.
In total, about 96,000 of the 1 million new jobs created will be in the public sector, or about 9.6 percent of total job creation.
