Infographic - Solar Energy Employment 2010 - 2015

Breakdown of Renewable Energy Jobs Around the World

There is a vast and growing workforce associated with renewable energy. The meteoric growth of these clean sources of energy will only continue as we approach the deadline for an international climate agreement that is certain to limit greenhouse gas production. To meet targets that will be put forth in this agreement we will need to transition away from fossil fuels and ramp-up an already fast moving renewable energy sector.

According to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) the industry currently employs 5.7M people. Most of the jobs are in China, the EU, Brazil, US and India. Here is a quick summary of the number of jobs in each of the top three nations as well international forecasts for the future :

Event - Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference

Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference, will take place on February 10 - 11, 2014, in Washington, D.C. This year’s Conference is focused on repairing the systems Americans rely on every day, whether getting us back and forth to work, supplying our power, keeping us safe from storms and floods, communicating with police and fire during emergencies, or ensuring the institutions where our children learn are safe and healthy.

Event - Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference

This event will take place on February 10 - 11, 2014 in Washington, DC.  This year’s Conference is focused on repairing the systems Americans rely on every day, whether getting us back and forth to work, supplying our power, keeping us safe from storms and floods, communicating with police and fire during emergencies, or ensuring the institutions where our children learn are safe and healthy. It's time to repair these systems today to create quality, family-sustaining jobs, to address the threat of climate change, and to ensure the health and safety of our workplaces and our communities. Join thousands of business and community leaders, union members, and environmentalists at Good Jobs, Green Jobs 2014 and take up the call to Repair America.

Event (Symposium) Green Growth, Green Jobs: Integrating Employment and Environmental Policies Across Europe

This symposium will take place on 29 January 2014, from 10:00am - 4:30pm at NH Hotel du Grand Sablon in Brussels. In the EU, more than 20 million jobs are already linked to the environment and the figure will increase as the EU continues its commitment to growing the economy while protecting natural resources.

A key objective of Europe 2020, the strategy for growth and jobs, is to address the need for sustainable and inclusive growth through the promotion of a competitive and greener economy in the EU. As part of the strategy, the EU has committed to offer its support to businesses so they can achieve the shift to a greener economy whilst remaining competitive on the global stage.

Infographic - New US Clean Energy Jobs by State in Q3

Source: Environmental Entrepreneurs

According to the new report "Clean Energy Works For Us: Q3 2013," more than 80 clean energy and clean transportation projects have been launched in the third quarter of this year and together they could create more than 15,000 jobs. Top states included California, Nevada, New York, Michigan, and Texas. States in the Southeast also posted strong numbers, though North Carolina lagged compared to its neighbors. Nationally, renewable power generation is expected to create 6,700 jobs — more than any other sector E2 tracked this quarter.

Breaking News - Keystone XL Pipeline on the Ropes: Conflict of Interest Revealed in the State's EIS

On Friday August 2nd, the State Department made a statement that may signal the end of the Keystone XL pipeline. The State Department is now questioning the veracity of the findings of a favorable review of the Keystone XL completed last year. According to diverse sources the consultant (Environmental Resources Management or ERM) that produced the report has been paid by TransCanada, the pipeline developer. ERM is also reported to have close ties with the American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry lobby with financial ties to TransCanada.

The proposed Keystone XL would ferry diluted bitumen from Alberta's tar sands to US Gulf Coast refineries. Because the pipeline crosses international borders, the project requires State Department approval. Questions about the impartiality of the State Department environmental impact statement (EIS) will likely delay the final verdict on the pipeline and may very well kill it altogether.

Obama Says the Number of Keystone XL Jobs are "Negligible"

President Obama gave further indications that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline may not win his support. On Tuesday July 30, Obama said for the second time in a week that as far as jobs are concerned the Keystone project is not worth much.

As reported in The Hill, the President told attendees at Amazon.com’s Chattanooga, Tenn., distribution facility, “Putting all your eggs in the basket of an oil pipeline that may only create about 50 permanent jobs, and wasting the country’s time by taking something like 40 meaningless votes to repeal ObamaCare isn’t a jobs plan.” 

Obama Refutes the Keystone XL's Economic and Jobs Benefits

On Saturday July 27, US President Barack Obama said the number of permanent jobs created by the Keystone XL pipeline would be between 50 and 100. That is far less than the tens of thousands touted by supporters of the pipeline. If it goes forward the Keystone XL which would ferry tar sands oil from Alberta Canada to the US Gulf Coast. A decision on the fate of the pipeline is expected late this year or early in 2014.

"Republicans have said that this would be a big jobs generator," Obama said in a New York Times interview, "There is no evidence that that's true. The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we're talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people."

Republicans and many business groups are pushing the administration to approve the pipeline while climate scientists and environmental groups are urging the administration to kill the project. Advocates for the pipeline have consistently justified the climate destroying pipeline as an economic boon and a great way to invest public money. Opponents to the pipeline point to the huge amount of emissions generated by fossil fuels and the tar sands in particular. James Hansen the recently retired NASA climate scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, has referred to the building of the Keystone XL as "game over" for efforts to combat climate change.

Report - Sustainability Career Paths: How To Become A Leader

Corporate sustainability leadership positions are becoming more common, but as the profession is still in its youth, career paths within the field are unclear to most practitioners. This report, written by Verdantix in partnership with GACSO (Global Association of Corporate Sustainability Officers), helps sustainability professionals to understand the stepping stones to the top, and helps those looking to enter the profession to understand entry points and how to progress.


Click here to register for access to this report.

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Event - Energy, Jobs and the Economy

The Energy, Jobs and the Economy event will take place at Ramapo High School (331 George Street, Franklin Lakes, NJ) on April 18, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. North Jersey Public Policy Network's Distinguished Expert Series Presents: "Energy, Jobs and the Economy," a thought-provoking discussion of the economic implications of moving away from fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy.

The talk features Professor Joseph Robertson of Villanova University and The Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) and Professor Bruce Mizrach, Associate Professor of Economics at Rutgers University. Matt Polsky, of the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise will moderate the discussion.

The EPA's New Tier 3 Standards Offer Environmental, Economic and Employment Benefits

The Obama administration has unveiled a proposal that will benefit the environment and the economy. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) historic new rules, known as the Tier 3 standards, will reduce sulfur in gasoline and tighten car and truck emission standards. The rule is still undergoing a White House budget office review, but it is expected to come into effect nationwide in 2017, except for California where it is already in place.

The new rule is part of a global trend that will bring US sulfur content in gasoline closer to current norms. Tier 3 will see a 60 percent reduction in the sulfur content of gas which translates to content reductions from 30 parts per million (ppm) down  to 10 ppm.

Tier 3 standards will also reduce vehicular emissions including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds. The rule is expected to reduce nitrogen oxides by as much as 80 percent, which would eliminate 260,000 tons of the pollutant, or the equivalent of taking 33 million cars off the roads.

National Solar Jobs Census 2012

On November 14th, 2012, The Solar Foundation released its third annual National Solar Jobs Census report, which found that the U.S. solar industry currently employs 119,016 Americans. This figure represents the addition of 13,872 new solar workers and a 13.2 percent employment growth rate over the past 12 months. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the overall economy grew at a rate of 2.3 percent during the same period*, signifying that 1 in 230 jobs created nationally over the last year were created in the solar industry. The report, produced by The Solar Foundation and in partnership with BW Research and Cornell University, was released at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference in Albany, NY.

1. Can the Solar Industry Make an Impact on American Unemployment? - Renewable Energy World's Top 10 Most Watched Videos of 2012

Part of Renewable Energy World's "Solar on the Street" series at Solar Power International 2012, they asked conference-goers if they thought the solar industry could affect US unemployment.

The National Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference (Event))

The 5th national Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference (CEWEC) is scheduled for November 13-15, 2012 at the Albany Marriott, Albany, New York. This event offers the most current information on instructional strategies, curriculum development, credentialing and best practices for training in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields. There will be more than 60 presentations over three days including a look forward at some new and thought-provoking next generation technologies and workforce needs.

Green Jobs Infographic

Infographic by Jobvine Jobs



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Romney Lied about the Success of Obama's Green Stimulus

During the presidential debate, Mitt Romney lied to the American public about the success of President Obama's green stimulus spending. A big part of the success of the Democrat's stimulus spending concerned the creation of green jobs. The US unemployment rate is now at 7.8 percent, this is the first time since the President took office that they have dropped below 8 percent. The President's support for green jobs are part of this favorable employment trend. According to a study from the Bureau of Labor as of 2010 there were already 3.1 million green jobs in the US. While the Obama administration was growing the number of green jobs, the Republicans were pushing legislation that undermines green job growth.

10 Jobs that Serve the Environment

Here are ten careers that give you a chance to help reduce human impacts on the environment. No matter how you look at it, green jobs are are on the increase all around the world. In addition to the important field of green energy contractors here are ten areas that are vital for the health and well being of our environment.

Green Careers Summit 2012 (Event)

This event will take place on Friday, October 12, 2012, in Calgary, AB at the Red & White Club. Are your students Canada's future environmental leaders? ECO Canada is inviting students in grades 11 & 12 and their teachers to the Red & White Club on October 12, 2012 for a day of environmental career exploration and learning at the 2012 Green Careers Summit.

Why should you bring your students to the Green Careers Summit?

• Meet environmental professionals and learn how they found their green career
• Talk to post-secondary students about studying in an environment-related program
• Discuss your interest in making positive environmental changes with other Calgary students
• Test your knowledge in an Environmental Career Case Competition, and present your solution to a real-life environmental problem in your community.

European Job Days Brussels 2012: Special Focus on the Green Sector (Event)

On October 6, 2012, European Job Day (EJD), will be taking place in Brussels Belgium. EJD has taken place since 2007, it is the largest of the Job Days events, and sees thousands of visitors every year. This year it is complemented by a European Online Job Day that will give the event a unique and improved, pan-European character. There will be a special focus on green sector, as well as healthcare, and ICT jobs. It is an opportunity for jobseekers and employers from across Europe to meet and make contact. This year’s event is also taking place online, so you will be able to participate no matter where you are.

If you’re a jobseeker, you will have the chance to be interviewed on the spot by employers. There will also be advice on living and working in other European countries, presentations from leading employers, and panel discussions on EU initiatives aimed at increasing employment. To find out more click here.