Manufacturing Climate Solutions

Download this report, sponsored by several Labor groups, called Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Carbon-Reducing Technologies and U.S. Jobs

SUMMARY
The United States today faces two major challenges and a choice of two futures. Our
challenges: An economic downturn occurring at the same time we are seeing the early impacts
of unchecked global warming. Our futures:

1. take no action on climate and follow business as usual, a future which is already being
altered significantly by the cost of relying on imported oil and one which will entail huge
costs related to the impacts of droughts, floods and other climate-related disruptions; or
2. put American ingenuity and skills to work to solve climate change, creating a huge
market driver in the United States for climate solutions—with all the necessary labor and
materials to make it happen.

The U.S. Congress is considering various legislative proposals to stabilize greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and prevent the dangerous consequences of global warming. These proposals would
catalyze a national transition to a low-carbon economy. A frequent concern for workers and
business is “What are the economic implications of this transition?” Manufacturing Climate
Solutions describes the economic opportunity inherent in a carbon-constrained world, a world
where massive investments in climate solutions and related infrastructure will be needed.

The Council believes, as this report demonstrates, that while many seek to pit the environment against the economy opportunities exist to create jobs while addressing climate change. Pennsylvania, for example, already has the existing infrastructure and skilled workforce to manufacture clean energy components that will create jobs while combatting global warming, as these charts from a 2007 Blue Green Alliance report on green jobs and manufacturing show: