China, Japan and South Korea Poised to Out-Compete U.S. in Global Clean Energy Economy
A new report from the Breakthrough Institute takes on the topic that has created a stir among clean energy and good jobs advocates in recent weeks: U.S. competitiveness in the global clean energy economy. The topic has come to the attention of green jobs advocates and policy makers alike, as media reports have emerged about plans by clean-tech companies to source many of their components from overseas.
The Breakthrough Institute study, Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant, finds that China, Japan and South Korea are poised to out-compete the United States for dominance of clean energy markets because those countries are outspending the U.S. by at least three-to-one on clean energy infrastructure and technology. China alone plans new direct investments in clean technology of at least $440 billion to $660 billion over ten years. By comparison, the U.S. will invest $172 billion over five years in clean technology if the Senate approves a clean energy and climate bill similar to the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES).
In addition to the larger public investments by Asian countries, the report says that the direct and coordinated nature of the investments “will confer significant advantages by developing each of the areas necessary to achieve a competitive economic advantage in the clean energy industry: research and innovation, manufacturing, and domestic market demand, as well as supportive infrastructure.”
Read the report, Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant.
The Apollo Alliance has been vigorously advocating for U.S. policies that address America’s clean energy competitive disadvantage. This week, our board members had two op-eds published on this very topic. Michael Peck of Gamesa USA and Leo Gerard of the United Steelworkers published an op-ed called “A green economy can resurrect Main Street” in the Tribune Democrat of Johnstown, Penn. They wrote, “America is at a tipping point: We can either become a first-tier clean-energy producer in the global green economy, or we can be a consumer of other countries’ manufactured goods. We can lead or follow, produce or just assemble, innovate or be left behind. It’s our choice.”
In another op-ed, published in the Huffington Post, Apollo Board Chair Phil Angelides wrote, “A topic that should be high on the agenda at the [upcoming White House] jobs summit is what lawmakers can do to prevent jobs created by new U.S. policies and taxpayer investments from going overseas, which is exactly what is happening with thousands of new manufacturing jobs in the burgeoning clean energy economy.” Check out the full op-ed at the Huffington Post.
For additional policy recommendations to address the U.S. clean energy competitiveness gap, see our recent article, Economic Development: The Missing Link in a National Clean Energy Policy.
Climate Policy Updates from the U.S. and Abroad
This week, with international climate change talks in Copenhagen fast approaching, President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao met to discuss climate change and other pressing international issues. After their meeting, they issued a joint statement about certain aspects of how the countries will approach climate change mitigation and the upcoming meeting in Copenhagen.
Although the statement did not commit either country to specific reductions in its greenhouse gas emissions, it did say that both countries agree that an “outcome at Copenhagen should include emission reduction targets of developed countries and nationally appropriate mitigation actions of developing countries.” Both countries also pledged to take significant action to mitigate climate change, consistent with their national circumstances.
The complete joint statement is available on the U.S. Embassy in Beijing’s website.
Back in the United States, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate will wait until spring 2010 to take up comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. News reports attributed the delay to the fact that the Senate is currently focused on a healthcare reform bill and will likely also consider a job-creation and financial industry reform bill before it addresses clean energy and climate legislation.
Meanwhile, in the absence of comprehensive federal clean energy and climate measures, other government actors are moving forward with programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This week, the EPA held hearings on its proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. And in an article in the New York Times, David Leonhardt reported that White House officials are considering creating a “cash for caulkers” program that would pay homeowners for upgrading the energy efficiency of their homes.
In Other News …
*Check out the new website Working for Green. It features short videos about people who are enhancing their lives—and ours—through green innovations and job creation. One video spotlights the creator of a “green box” made of recycled plastic that can be used in place of cardboard moving boxes.
*In our newest clean energy “signature story,” the Apollo Alliance describes the Lost Creek Wind Farm, which will be the largest wind farm in Missouri. Lost Creek prioritizes the use of wind turbines whose parts are made domestically. The electrical transformers on the wind turbines are manufactured by workers represented by UAW Local 2379. Read the story, Lost Creek Wind Farm Turbines Made in the U.S.A.
*This week the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the recipients of its Green Capacity Building grants. These grants, which were authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are intended to build the green training capacity of current DOL grantees. Recipients included a wide diversity of groups, such as Arizona Women’s Education and Employment, Inc., Urban League of Broward County, City of Peoria Workforce Development Department, and Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, among others. Click here for the full list of grantees.
Lost Creek Wind Farm Turbines Made in the USA
Farmers in DeKalb County, Mo., who depend on corn, soybeans and pasture land for their livelihoods will soon gain another source of income: annual payments from the Wind Capital Group, which is leasing space on their properties to create the largest wind farm in Missouri. Lost Creek Wind Farm will cover 32,000 acres and produce enough electricity to power 50,000 homes. The project will also create short-term construction jobs and ongoing operations jobs as well as infrastructure benefits for DeKalb County. Read more
Green Jobs Programs Provide Veterans with a New Mission
This Wednesday was Veterans Day, and to honor our veterans and their service to our country, the Apollo Alliance published a feature story about veterans’ role in the green economy. The article profiled two green jobs programs—Veterans Green Jobs of Colorado and the Veterans Conservation Corps of Washington state—and the recently launched “Operation Free” campaign that has veterans touring the country to call for federal action on climate change.
Veterans Green Jobs runs a 9-week “Home Energy Auditor Training” (HEAT) for veterans, using a rapid, hands-on “military” style of training and a curriculum that was developed in collaboration with community colleges and industry organizations. Upon completion of the training, graduates receive college credits as well as a home energy efficiency certification. The first class of trainees graduated in June, and another class just began in October.
“We think veterans are uniquely qualified to lead the environmental restoration here at home,” said Kirsten Maynard of Veterans Green Jobs. “Not only have they seen environmental destruction across the world; they also have technical skills and other kinds of work skills that allow them to do the really tough work that needs to be done - like go into homes and crawl in the attic and the basement. They’ve been trained by the military to do it, and they actually feel comfortable being in that kind of environment.”
The Veterans Conservation Corps, which is run out of the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, puts veterans to work on habitat restoration and protection projects across Washington state. The program has been in existence for four years but has faced challenges recently because state budget cuts eliminated the stipends the program paid veterans for their conservation efforts. The Veterans Conservation Corps has also inaugurated a new program, called Veterans Corps, which is modeled on the AmeriCorps program.
“It’s a revitalization of a mission they had in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Mark Fischer, who runs the Veterans Conservation Corps. “Once they left the military, that mission is gone, and it’s a big loss. When they lose that purpose it can be disheartening and disorienting. We try to create a meaningful job - for a purpose-driven life.”
Operation Free is a new campaign by national security and veterans organizations to draw attention to the national security threat created by climate change. “The reason why national security organizations are taking this as a serious threat is that not only are we [the United States] dependent on oil, but the conflicts that arise from famines, floods and droughts [caused by climate change] multiply the threat of current conflicts and create instability,” said Alex Cornell du Houx, an Iraq war veteran and participant in Operation Free. Operation Free held an inaugural event in Washington, D.C., in September, which was followed by a bus tour by veterans in October.
To read the full article and learn more about these green jobs and climate change advocacy efforts by veterans, visit the Apollo Alliance website.
Manufacturers Gather to Discuss Climate and Clean Energy Policies
Today, the Apollo Alliance and the Center for American Progress (CAP) sponsored an event in Washington, D.C., for manufacturers to discuss the Senate clean energy and climate bill. The strategy session was hosted by former Sen. Tom Daschle, who is now a distinguished senior fellow at CAP, and was attended by Dow Chemical, ClearEdge Power, Infinia Corporation, SunRise Solar and other manufacturers. The participating businesses represented supply chains from throughout the country, including in Michigan, Washington, Indiana, California, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The event included a roundtable discussion about the manufacturing provisions in the Kerry-Boxer clean energy and climate bill and other pieces of legislation that address clean energy manufacturing, like Sen. Sherrod Brown’s Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act. The business leaders also addressed additional measures that would support domestic manufacturers during the transition to a clean energy economy. After the roundtable, Sen. Daschle and several of the manufacturers participated in a telephone press conference.
The interests of manufacturers are critical to the climate and energy bill debate. On the one hand, carbon-intensive manufacturers will need assistance to become more energy efficient so they can compete with foreign manufacturers that are unencumbered by restrictive climate change measures. On the other hand, there is excitement about the potential for clean energy manufacturing to create high-quality jobs in the states that have been hit hardest by the recession—if policymakers implement measures to prevent new jobs from going overseas.
The manufacturers who attended today’s event share two common beliefs. First, that setting a limit on carbon pollution is the key to driving investment in clean energy technologies and incentivizing investment in efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes that will increase the long-term competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. Second, that federal policymakers should strategically invest in the domestic manufacture of the products and services of the clean energy economy.
To learn more about manufacturing and the clean energy economy, read the Apollo Alliance’s Green Manufacturing Action Plan.
Learn How to Promote Equity in the Green Economy
This week, the Applied Research Center published a Green Equity Toolkit to help communities fight for green jobs for women and people of color; good jobs with living wages and union representation; and career pathways that lift people out of poverty and into upwardly mobile, middle-class lives.
“The Toolkit highlights green equity success stories and provides practical steps for how labor and community advocates can create equity and inclusion in the green economy,” said Yvonne Liu, senior research associate at the Applied Research Center and coordinator of the Green Equity Toolkit. “The green promise means those communities most devastated by the recession — women and people of color – can mobilize to ride the green wave.”
The toolkit provides guidance for designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating initiatives that establish green-collar jobs. It can be applied to the public and/or private sector, in both for-profit and non–profit organizations.
Download the toolkit and learn more about what you can do to make sure issues of race, gender and economic equity are central in the development of the green economy.
In other news …
*The Apollo Alliance is seeking a program intern to work with our program and policy department starting in January 2009. This internship offers an excellent opportunity for a talented student or professional committed to clean energy and social equity issues to gain experience working in a high caliber, fast paced, results-oriented non-profit policy organization. Read the program intern position description.
Veterans Have a New Mission: Making America More Secure Through Conservation Service and Energy Efficiency
Veterans who once crawled around attics and other claustrophobic spaces in homes in Iraq and Afghanistan, searching for hidden weapons and suspected terrorists, are now crawling through homes in the United States to track down air leaks and missing insulation. They are part of a new wave of veterans who are turning the skills and determination they developed in the military to a new mission: that of reducing Americans’ energy use and carbon emissions. Read more
Announcing the Apollo Alliance 2009 Right Stuff Award Winners
On Friday, Nov. 6, the Apollo Alliance will award the 2009 Right Stuff Awards to five individuals whose work exemplifies Apollo’s clean energy, good jobs mission. This year’s honorees are Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund; Barbara Byrd, secretary-treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO; Keith Cooley, president and CEO of NextEnergy; Sally Prouty, president of The Corps Network; and Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers International Union of North America.
We hope you are as inspired as we are by the pioneering work that’s been done by these visionary leaders during the last year—and over the span of their careers:
Fred Krupp. In his 24 years as head of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Fred Krupp has overseen the organization’s growth from a small nonprofit with a budget of $3 million into a global leader in the environmental movement. Fred is widely recognized as a champion of harnessing market forces for environmental ends, such as the market-based acid rain reduction plan in the 1990 Clean Air Act that The Economist hailed as “the greatest green success story of the past decade.” Today, this approach has become the leading model for solving the climate change. Krupp is coauthor, with Miriam Horn, of New York Times Best Seller, Earth: The Sequel – The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming.
Barbara Byrd. As secretary-treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO, Barbara has been at the forefront of Oregon’s efforts to create green jobs and become a more energy-efficient state. In her capacity as head of the Oregon Apollo Alliance, Barbara worked for the passage of Oregon’s Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology Act of 2009, which created a statewide, low-interest loan program for home and small business weatherization. She is also active on climate change and green jobs regionally—as a leader of a group of labor unions that is participating in the development of a regional cap-and-trade program called the Western Climate Initiative. Internationally, Barbara attended the UN Climate Change Convention in Bali, Indonesia, as part of the first official U.S. labor delegation to participate in these discussions.
Keith Cooley. As president and CEO of NextEnergy, one of the nation’s leading accelerators for alternative and renewable energy technologies, Cooley and his team are striving to make Michigan the Silicon Valley of alternative energy production. Keith and NextEnergy are bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in alternative energy investment to Michigan by promoting the region’s wealth of manufacturing resources and skilled workforce that were created by the automotive industry. These resources have positioned Michigan to capitalize on the clean energy revolution.
Terry O’Sullivan. The general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), Terry is regarded as an innovator by the newest generation of labor leaders. Working with the U.S. Department of Labor, Terry and LIUNA have developed a breakthrough national weatherization training program to help meet the demand for the thousands of skilled workers that will be needed to weatherize America, including technicians, installers and energy auditors. By taking the lead in training America’s clean energy workforce, Terry has shown that if a green job is also a good job, we can truly transform or economy and save our planet.
Sally Prouty. As director of the Ohio Civilian Conservation Corps, Sally Prouty created the ‘Corps to Career’ program, in which she demonstrated that formerly incarcerated young people could leave juvenile justice correction centers, secure jobs, and become stewards of the environment. Today, service and conservation corps, in partnership with unions and workforce development and educational institutions, provide green jobs training across the country. As president of The Corps Network, Sally has been the driving force behind a national Clean Energy Service Corps that will help to retrofit American cities and put corps members on pathways to successful careers in the clean energy economy.
The Right Stuff Awards will be presented on Friday, Nov. 6 at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco at an event that will raise awareness and financial support for Apollo’s efforts to promote clean energy and good jobs in the United States. The event’s keynote speaker is U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who is a leading policy maker on the issue of clean energy manufacturing.
For more on the honorees and the awards dinner, check out the Right Stuff Awards event page.
Clean Energy Manufacturing Brouhaha in the News
A recent rash of news stories have highlighted the fact that many clean energy manufacturing jobs are going overseas. This is a critical issue that the Apollo Alliance has been working to address for some time.
Last Friday, the Wall Street Journal ran a story (Chinese-Made Turbines to Fill U.S. Wind Farm) about a Chinese wind-turbine company that is going to be the exclusive supplier to one of the largest wind-farm developments in the U.S. The development, which will be located in West Texas, is ostensibly going to create 2,800 jobs, but only 15 percent of them will be in the United States. The rest will be in China.
On Sunday, the New York Times’ Green Inc. blog took up the same topic (Chinese Involvement in Proposed Texas Wind Farm Stirs Passions) and included dozens of angry comments from readers who wanted to know why U.S. companies—rather than a Chinese company–weren’t manufacturing these wind turbines. The column also mentioned that China’s foray into the American wind power market coincides with its dominance of the solar panel manufacturing industry. A subsequent column (Of China, Texas and Green Jobs) included a defense from a managing partner in the private equity firm that funded the Texas wind farm.
From the Apollo Alliance’s perspective, neither China nor Texas should be blamed for these developments. Absent federal policies that encourage domestic production of clean energy systems and technologies, America will continue to lose green manufacturing jobs to other nations.
U.S. Reps. Zack Space and John Boccieri of Ohio were keyed in on this issue when they incorporated language into the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) that would help traditional U.S. manufacturers retool to enter the clean energy economy.
In the Senate, the champion of clean energy manufacturing is Sherrod Brown, also of Ohio. He introduced the IMPACT Act, which would establish a revolving loan fund to help small and mid-sized manufacturers in the U.S. retool their factories to produce clean technologies. The bill would also increase support for Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs) that link smaller manufacturers to supply chains and markets for their goods. Brown is working to get the IMPACT Act incorporated into the Senate clean energy and climate bill.
The federal government could do much more to promote domestic clean energy manufacturing. It could offer incentives to persuade clean energy manufacturing companies to set up shop in the U.S.—a common practice around the world. It could also adopt a domestic content requirement – often called a “Buy American” policy – that would either require or give preference to companies that use a certain percentage of components that are manufactured in the United States.
Some green jobs will, by their nature, be located in the United States—like jobs making buildings more energy efficient and jobs operating and maintaining wind and solar farms. But the jobs that can be sent offshore will be—unless our policy makers take steps to keep them here.
Learn more about the IMPACT Act.
In other news …
*Apollo’s chairman, Phil Angelides, had an op-ed published in Roll Call this week. His piece praises the unlikely alliance between Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., calling it a crucial step toward achieving a clean energy, good jobs economy that protects and creates jobs, enhances national security, and reduces climate-changing emissions.
*We have a new clean energy success story for your reading enjoyment. Our newest Signature Story is about New York’s Green Jobs/Green New York Act, which was signed into law by Gov. David Patterson on Oct. 13. Green Jobs/Green New York sets a goal of retrofitting a million homes across the state, and establishes a revolving loan fund to cover up-front costs of residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements. The loan fund and an associated green jobs training program will be funded with proceeds from a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction. RGGI is a cap-and-trade program that was started by 10 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.
Apollo Alliance Fetes Clean Energy, Good Jobs at Right Stuff Awards Gala
SAN FRANCISCO – The Apollo Alliance will celebrate a year of clean energy progress and leadership tonight at the group’s annual Right Stuff Awards gala in downtown San Francisco. The dinner and VIP reception will be held at the St. Regis Hotel, where Apollo will honor five exceptional individuals whose work exemplifies Apollo’s mission of catalyzing a clean energy, good jobs economy. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a leading voice in Congress on behalf of working people, will deliver the evening’s keynote address.
The Right Stuff Awards Dinner raises awareness and financial support for Apollo’s work to promote clean energy and good jobs in the United States. Apollo’s unlikely and diverse coalition of labor, business, environmental and community leaders is working together to transition America to a 21st century clean energy economy. Inspired by the Apollo space program, the Apollo Alliance promotes investments in energy efficiency, clean power, mass transit, next-generation vehicles, and emerging technologies, as well as education and training for the next generation of clean energy workers.
This year’s Right Stuff Award winners include:
• Fred Krupp. In his 25 years as head of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Fred Krupp has overseen the organization’s growth from a small nonprofit with a budget of $3 million into a global leader in the environmental movement. Krupp is widely recognized as a champion of harnessing market forces for environmental ends, such as the market-based acid rain reduction plan in the 1990 Clean Air Act that The Economist hailed as “the greatest green success story of the past decade.” Today, this approach has become the leading model for solving the climate change. Krupp is coauthor, with Miriam Horn, of New York Times Best Seller, Earth: The Sequel – The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming.
• Barbara Byrd. As secretary-treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO, Byrd has been at the forefront of Oregon’s efforts to create green jobs and become a more energy-efficient state. In her role as head of the Oregon Apollo Alliance, she worked for the passage of Oregon’s Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology Act of 2009, which created a statewide, low-interest loan program for home and small business weatherization. She is also active on climate change and green jobs regionally—as a leader of a group of labor unions that is participating in the development of a regional cap-and-trade program called the Western Climate Initiative. Internationally, Barbara attended the UN Climate Change Convention in Bali, Indonesia, as part of the first official U.S. labor delegation to participate in these discussions.
• Keith Cooley. As president and CEO of NextEnergy, one of the nation’s leading accelerators for alternative and renewable energy technologies, Cooley and his team are striving to make Michigan the Silicon Valley of alternative energy production. Keith and NextEnergy are bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in clean energy investment to Michigan by promoting the region’s wealth of manufacturing resources and skilled workforce that were created by the automotive industry. These resources have positioned Michigan to capitalize on the clean energy revolution.
• Terry O’Sullivan. The general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), O’Sullivan is regarded as an innovator by the newest generation of labor leaders. Working with the U.S. Department of Labor, Terry and LIUNA have developed a breakthrough national weatherization training program to help meet the demand for the thousands of skilled workers that will be needed to weatherize America, including technicians, installers and energy auditors. By taking the lead in training America’s clean energy workforce, Terry has shown that if a green job is also a good job, we can truly transform our economy and save our planet.
• Sally Prouty. When she was director of the Ohio Civilian Conservation Corps, Prouty created the ‘Corps to Career’ program, where she demonstrated that formerly incarcerated young people could leave juvenile justice correction centers, secure jobs, and become stewards of the environment. Today, service and conservation corps, in partnership with unions and workforce development and educational institutions, provides green jobs training across the country. As president of The Corps Network, Prouty has been the driving force behind a national Clean Energy Service Corps that will help to retrofit American cities and put corps members on pathways to successful careers in the clean energy economy.
“All of tonight’s honorees are exceptional leaders who represent the unique alliances that are coming together to put millions of Americans back to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs,” said Phil Angelides, chairman of the Apollo Alliance. “Our 2009 Right Stuff Awards recipients are visionary pioneers who are creating opportunities for society’s least privileged and helping America lead the way to the new green economy.”
Right Stuff Awards sponsors include: Steven M. Silberstein, Matter Network, Environmental Defense Fund, SEIU, Kimo Cambell, Gamesa, Change to Win, Ellen Pao and Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., Tides Center, LIUNA, Regis and Dianne KcKenna, Northern California Carpenters, American Income Life Insurance the UFCW, Robert Adler, BrightSourceEnergy, EcoAmerica, and The Corps Network.
For more information, contact Apollo’s communications director, Sam Haswell, at (415) 371-1700 x201.
###
The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of unlikely and diverse interests – including labor, business, environmental, and community leaders – advancing a bold vision for the next American economy centered on clean energy and good jobs.
New York Invests in Green-Collar Jobs
New York State took a bold step toward improving energy efficiency and creating quality green-collar jobs this October when Gov. David Paterson signed the Green Jobs/Green New York Act of 2009 into law. The product of active collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders, the bill represents an exciting new development in a state that has already shown a strong commitment to energy efficiency and innovation. Read more
