Green Economy

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The Labor Center Green Economy Program conducts research on issues of job creation, quality, access, and training in the emergent green economy. In addition, we provide research and technical assistance to state agencies, labor, and other stakeholders who are engaged in developing and implementing policy related to energy and climate change in California and nationally.

Research & Publications

View Testimony

September 3, 2020 -

Carol Zabin

Putting California on the High Road: A Jobs and Climate Action Plan for 2030

California’s ambitious path towards a carbon-neutral economy is complex, involves and affects different industries and occupations in multiple ways, and holds both promise and challenges for the state’s working families. The analysis and recommendations here present actions that show a high road to climate policy is both valuable and feasible.

September 3, 2020 -

California Workforce Development Board

RELEASE: Putting California on the High Road: A Jobs and Climate Action Plan for 2030

With the pandemic-induced economic downturn and uncertainty hurting Californians across the state – and with the fires a reminder of the urgent need for climate action – the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) today submitted a new report to the Legislature highlighting a path forward for an economic recovery that advances the Administration’s high road principles of economic equity, climate resilience, and job quality.

September 27, 2019 -

Robert Collier, Sanderson Hull, Oluwafemi Sawyerr, Shenshen Li, Manohar Mogadali, Dan Mullenand Arne Olson

California Offshore Wind: Workforce Impacts and Grid Integration

Our study addresses two separate but complementary questions for California in the years and decades ahead: 1) what benefits would the emergence of a major offshore wind power sector create for California workers and communities, and what policies might optimize these impacts; and 2) would offshore wind power be a competitive source of renewable energy in comparison to other clean energy sources?

August 22, 2019 -

Carol Zabinand Sam Appel

Truck Driver Misclassification: Climate, Labor, and Environmental Justice Impacts

Introduction The next great challenge for California climate policy lies in the transportation sector. Vehicles account for fully 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions in California, the most of any…

August 22, 2019 -

UC Berkeley Labor Center

RELEASE: Truck Driver Misclassification: Climate, Labor, and Environmental Justice Impacts

New UC Berkeley Report: Stop Truck Driver Misclassification to Meet California’s Climate Goals. Misclassified drivers can’t afford clean trucks; Current Legislation—AB 5 would help make California’s transition to low- and zero-emissions trucks a reality.

Spotlight

Needs Assessment

Press Coverage

September 20, 2020 -

Inland Empire Community News

Envisioning a sustainable logistics system

We must invest in a healthy economic recovery – one that prioritizes underserved communities, reduces pollution, and grows good jobs. We can’t slow the growth of the logistics and warehousing industry, but we can make sure that it is cleaner, safer, and better. A new report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center, “Putting California on the High Road,” lays out how we get there.

September 7, 2020 -

La Opinión

Cómo apoyar a las familias, mientras la economía se levanta

“Esa pieza de legislación por primera vez requirió que el estado presentara recomendaciones sobre cómo apoyar a los trabajadores, mientras hacemos esta gran transición económica para reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero”, dijo Zabin, quien es la principal autora del reporte.

September 3, 2020 -

Empire KVCR

California Workforce Development Board Submits Report On Economic Equity, Climate Resilience

Carol Zabin, Director of the Green Economy Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, is the report’s lead author. She says it’s meant to act as a roadmap as the state intervenes in the economy to enact climate goals.

September 3, 2020 -

Daily Californian

CA report details recommendations for equity in jobs affected by climate change

“California has the most comprehensive portfolio of climate policies and programs, so it’s really important to add labor and equity elements to that, and this report shows the state how,” Zabin said.

September 3, 2020 -

Los Angeles Times

Clean energy jobs are coming. Here’s how to make sure they’re good jobs

Joe Biden said at the Democratic National Convention that America should “lead the world in clean energy and create millions of new good-paying jobs.” Similar thinking underlies the Green New Deal, which declares a goal of “guaranteeing a job with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to all people of the United States.” So how do we actually create those kinds of family-supporting jobs, and give people the skills to fill them?

Program Contact

Carol Zabin

Director, Green Economy Program

zabin@berkeley.edu

(510) 642-9176