Green Jobs and a New Energy/Economic Paradigm

Over the past few months discussion of "green collar jobs" has finally entered the mainstream. Organizations like the Apollo Alliance have been promoting the concept for years and have been successful among the progressive activist crowd, but never got the attention their ideas are now receiving. Along with its new found popularity, green jobs movement has also, inevitably, seen a good amount of derision as a over-hyped benefit of transition to a renewable energy economy. Although certainly not a panacea for domestic economic problems, renewable energy (and the transition to a more local and green economy that comes with it) will no doubt bring some large, and on balance good, changes. 

I don't think the macroeconomic picture gets enough attention in this debate. Currently the US imports one-third of all its energy (and nearly 75% of its oil), by far the largest energy quantity importer (in addition to consumer) in the world. No matter if it is in the form of oil, natural gas, uranium or coal, importing our energy is a lost economic opportunity for the United States, American workers, and our trade imbalance.

The problem, as I see it, is that the framing of the green jobs is almost always in accompanied with a picture guys in hard hats installing solar panels (ironically recreated in this post). While this is accurate (and no doubt a powerful image), it is far from the whole picture. What we are talking about is the wholesale reinvention of the American energy sector as completely domestic. Incorporating what are currently energy imports into the domestic economy would be a huge, perhaps unprecedented, boost to the American economy, not to mention, national security. In addition to the new jobs that by definition are local (infrastructure installation and maintenance), we are also talking about stimulating community reinvestment and keeping capital that previously left the country in the United States. As we are already seeing in some places, this will have a positive job effects on sunny and windswept areas of the Southwest, Great Plains and Midwest but will have macro-economic effects on the whole country. The economic benefits of renewable energy are far beyond just green collar jobs directly related to energy on a local level. This is the localization (back to the United States rather than in the Middle East) of our national energy policy.

Maybe I am off-base about the messaging of green collar jobs. I am far from an expert. Maybe this sort of frame is already being used with certain audiences I do think that it is important to be able to frame the message differently for different audiences and the macro-economic frame is a very important one. I will be attending "How to grow green collar jobs" with Kate Gordon of Apollo Alliance at SPUR tomorrow. I may have more to report afterward.

Caps and such

I have been quite skeptical of carbon trading mechanisms (i.e. "cap and trade") because of what seem to be their obvious flaws (administrative challenges of a complex new system, influence on permit allocation by special interests).

However my interest has been peaked by discussions of the "cap and dividend" approach developed, in one variation, by Peter Barnes and described on Dot Earth. What I find the most fascinating is not the dividend part itself (although I am relieved by his proposal of a progressive dividend and retaining some of the permit income for technology research/implementation) but Barnes' description of the relative administrative simplicity of a cap and dividend approach in comparison to a carbon tax. He does sell the "upstream cap" quite well.

Additionally, on a more testable level there we have a lot of evidence from the European experience on how to successfully (or unsuccessfully) implement a cap and trade program. Largely the European program has been a pioneering success (a conclusion supported by a detailed MIT study (PDF)), with the exception of the permit distribution process leading to, in the opinion of some, a legal "right to pollute" and the steep devaluation of the permits (as depicted in the graph).

The climate is right for a new energy solution

The "perfect storm" is upon us. The consensus has never been stronger that human-caused global climate change is already--and increasingly--endangering the human way of life and the natural systems on which we depend. The unprecedented pace of industrial development in previously "third world" nations like China and India is pushing our natural resources and global economy to the breaking point with millions of new Western-style consumers every year. Finally, we are facing a new energy challenge of providing a decent standard of living to a growing global consumer population while coming up against new limitations in the form of dwindling and increasingly expensive fossil fuel supplies.

At the same time the intersection of these global crises are becoming increasingly clear. Interrelated solutions that will help us address these challenges are increasingly unable to be ignored. The climate is right to create a new energy plan to provide clean energy for a healthy earth, economy and society.

This forum aspires to be a place where these interconnections can be explored, strengthened and become an obvious truth that that will lead to strong solutions and actions.