Building a Jobs-Centered Just Transition and Climate Action

The global economy is experiencing a “green transition,” a critical shift to address the pressing imperative of combating climate change and its far-reaching impacts. With trillions of dollars being invested by both public and private sectors worldwide, this transition aims to prepare for and mitigate the threats posed by climate change, including extreme weather, resource shortages, and other challenges increasingly affecting our planet.  

In the United States, landmark federal laws such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act are pivotal in this shift, generating substantial public capital and offering tax credits to spur further private investment. These legislative efforts accelerate the green transition and increasingly focus on creating and developing green jobs. 

Employers are at the forefront of developing quality green jobs, playing a crucial role in this transformative period. Concurrently, educational institutions and training providers are preparing students and jobseekers to secure these emerging good green jobs, ensuring they have the necessary skills and knowledge. Moreover, workforce boards and the broader workforce system actively seek ways to expand the talent pools for green jobs, facilitating the connection between employers and quality candidates. This collective effort underscores a gradual yet significant shift in the U.S. economy, responding to the urgency of climate change and the necessity of transitioning toward a more sustainable and resilient future.

Despite the increasing demand for recognized green job roles such as solar photovoltaic installers, environmental scientists, and electric vehicle technicians, the United States currently boasts only an estimated 900,000 green jobs, accounting for a mere 0.6% of the workforce. This highlights the stark gap in the employment market, especially considering the critical need for a transition toward a more sustainable and environmentally friendly economy. Additionally, the representation within these green jobs is lacking, failing to include significant portions of the populations most adversely affected by climate change—individuals from low-income backgrounds, people of color, and residents of rural areas.  

This underrepresentation speaks to a broader, more troubling issue: the pace of transition to a green economy is insufficient to diminish the considerable health risks posed by climate change or build equitable resilience for communities experiencing devastating, continuous natural disasters. Moreover, the emerging green jobs that could serve as pillars for this necessary change, particularly those demanding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills, often require at least a bachelor’s degree. Employers offering green jobs lack entry-level positions or clear pathways for individuals from communities that have not received equitable investments from the government or private-sector institutions, compounding the challenges of achieving an inclusive and equitable green transition. 

This situation is exacerbated by the current inadequacies in job standards and tools, which are ill-equipped to contend fully with the extensive transformation toward a green economy. This shortfall impedes jobseekers’ ability to make informed decisions about opportunities within this growing sector. It restricts employers’ capacity to measure a job’s environmental impact, invest in the “up-greening” of roles, disclose such investments in climate action, and engage actively in the global race toward zero emissions. The deficiency in resources and tools not only limits the ability of jobseekers to navigate the green job market effectively but also prevents employers from playing a more dynamic role in the environmental sustainability movement. 

Implementing solutions addressing the root causes of global warming while ensuring accessible, quality jobs that pave the way for a sustainable future is imperative for a truly just and equitable transition to a green economy. This must prioritize making green jobs more readily available to people from low-income backgrounds and people of color, who are currently vastly underrepresented in the green economy.

Excerpt: Crystal Bridgeman, “The Role of Employers in Scaling the Transition into the Climate Economy”

A concerted effort from leaders and stakeholders across various sectors—including workforce systems, education and training providers, policymakers, community development organizations, and others—is crucial. They must champion economic activities that cater to immediate needs and consider long-term environmental and social impacts. This approach necessitates refining the definition and categorization of “green jobs” and focusing on identifying and nurturing transferable skills essential for fostering a climate-resilient future and workforce. Through these concerted efforts, we can ensure that the green economy benefits all stakeholders, thereby contributing to a more inclusive and sustainable world. 

The mission of Jobs for the Future (JFF)—to drive transformation of the U.S. education and workforce systems to achieve equitable economic advancement for all—aligns well with Indeed’s mission to help all people, including jobseekers who face barriers, get jobs. Given the impact climate change and climate action have on the future of work, jobs, and advancement, JFF and Indeed have come together to contribute to our shared organizational goals. Together, we are working to provide insights, awareness, and outcomes supporting a just transition. Our focus is on supporting communities of color and jobseekers encountering barriers as they seek to enter the expanding green economy and workforce.  

Furthermore, JFF, in collaboration with mission-aligned and climate action-committed organizations such as the World Resources Institute (WRI), is co-ideating technology-driven products like the Green Quotient (GQ) to measure the climate impact of jobs and maximize jobs-driven decarbonization. To further this effort, JFF has brought together the Green Quotient Circle of Co-Creators (GQ Circle) to cocreate and copilot similar ideas and solutions to catalyze a just transition to a green economy.

GQ Circle:

Join us in empowering employers and jobseekers to make informed choices for sustainable employment. Together, let’s drive a transformative shift toward a greener, more equitable job market and climate economy. Contact us today to build a brighter and sustainable future for all.