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Green Jobs:
By the Numbers

High Road or Low Road?

There is enormous potential for green jobs. High Road or Low Road?, a study released by the Sierra Club, Change to Win, LIUNA, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, outlines the benefits of green jobs and the sectors of the economy that stand to gain the most from green job creation. Economic investment in a green economy will give the United States the opportunity to address unemployment, the climate crisis, and the current economic situation, as well as deep-rooted problems like poverty and inequality. This report details how we can ensure that green jobs are also good jobs that build a solid economic and environmental foundation for generations to come.

Factsheet: High Road or Low Road? Job Quality in the New Green Economy

State Studies

1. A Blue-Green Alliance report about job potential in FL, IN, MN, MO, NE, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WI. June 2008.
2. A Center for American Progress study on 34 states. Sept 2008.
3. The Environmental Defense Fund's Less Carbon, More Jobs project highlights the work businesses across the country are doing to reduce carbon emissions.
4. Blue-Green Alliance's report detailing potential job growth in four renewable industries across 50 states. June 2009.
5. Green-for-All's compilation of data on job creation and the economic impact of clean-energy investments on lower-income families nationally, as well as in forty-one metropolitan statistical areas and Congressional Districts.
6. A Center for American Progress study of clean-energy investment job creation numbers in the 50 states. June 2009

National Studies

1. The United States Conference of Mayors Green Jobs Index which explores the potential for green jobs in a variety of sectors. The study reports that by 2038, 4.2 million jobs will be created in the green economy. October 2, 2008
2. The United Nations Environment Programme, International Labour Organization and others released a report prepared by the World Watch Institute looking at the potential for green jobs on a global scale. Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World
3. An Economic Policy Institute report about the effect of green investments upon the labor market.
4. An Environmental and Energy Study Institute factsheet listing national and international Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency jobs statistics. October 2008.
5. A Center for American Progress and Political Economy Research Institute report examining how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the American Clean Energy and Security Act can boost U.S. economic growth and employment. June 2009.
6. A Center for American Progress outlining a green economic recovery program to strengthen the U.S. economy over the next two years. The report projects the creation of nearly two million jobs for a $100 billion investment in a green economic recovery program. September 2009.