The next economy – the clean energy economy – is here. The transition has begun. And we must seize the opportunity to shape our clean energy future.
That is why Climate Week happening right now in New York City is such a big deal. It is a chance to build relationships and grow the movement to tackle the climate crisis, as well as enlist more corporate partners and business leaders. It’s also a time to make sure all our partners, from both the public or private sectors, are centering environmental justice as we build and lead the next economy.
It is not the threat of climate change alone that is driving the clean energy transition. It is also being driven by market forces. Clean, renewable sources of energy are more resilient than fossil fuels. They are also less expensive and are getting even cheaper.
The clean energy transition can mean a windfall for communities across this country. Beyond reducing consumer costs for energy, Black communities will see a larger share of the health benefits by doing away with fossil fuels because we are currently among the most impacted by fossil fuel pollution. As Black people, we are more likely to live near coal plants and other sources of industrial pollution, as well as congested highways. That means more cancer, more asthma, increases in heart attacks and high blood pressure, and even lower birth weights.
We also tend to live in more climate vulnerable areas – places more susceptible to extreme weather like flooding and dangerous heat waves. When I was national president of the NAACP, we created the Environmental and Climate Justice Program. One of the first things that program did was produce a report mapping the places most likely to be impacted by climate-related disasters — low-income communities and communities of color regardless of income level. The current national president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, has continued the important work of that program. He has said:
“We care about the education of our children, but if the children are in unhealthy environments, we know that it impedes their learning. We care about health and access to health care, so we must care about the decisions that create mega health impacts.”
In addition to health benefits, the green jobs boom that will come from leading the next economy can mean a new age of equity in the workforce.
Policies like the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are already spurring unprecedented investments by the private sector. There have been over 300,000 new clean energy jobs created in the two years since passage of the IRA. If we build domestic supply chains for all this clean energy production, storage, and distribution, for every one direct clean energy job we create, we can create another four new jobs in areas like manufacturing and construction.
As new green industries become the foundation of our next economy, we have an opportunity to ensure women and people of color start on an even playing field. Where certain people and communities were left behind by previous economic booms, we can make sure that does not happen this time. But all the players – from the government to the companies making the goods and employing the workers – must do their part to make sure the clean energy transition is just and equitable. This is just one of the conversations I will be having with industry leaders during Climate Week.
Another important conversation is about the need for trees and green spaces in all our communities.
I have been on a national tour with USDA Under Secretary Homer Wilkes promoting the administration’s historic $1.5 billion investment in urban forestry. On average, parks in communities of color are half as large as the ones in white communities, and parks in low-income communities are a quarter the size of parks in higher income communities. This creates urban heat islands that make it as much as 10 degrees hotter on the blocks where people of color and lower-income people live. Adding trees also cleans the air. The National Recreation and Park Association found that trees in U.S. urban parks remove 75,000 tons of pollution per year. More trees also improve mental health, kids’ performance in schools, and even help reduce crime. Research has shown neighborhoods with 10% more tree canopy cover experienced about 12% less crime.
Adding parks and trees to America’s cities is work being undertaken by community organizations, not just the government. And there is no shortage of corporate sponsors for this important work or ways for more businesses to get involved.
There is room in every aspect of the climate movement for more people, more companies, and more industries to get involved and it can be good for their bottom line. At the Sierra Club, we have created a Green Ventures and Partnerships department specifically to increase this outreach and make our movement more inclusive. The transition is happening. Having partners that understand how to make it just and equitable will create a tide that truly lifts all boats.
Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
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