Clean Energy Jobs

America can't afford to miss out on one of the largest new economic revolutions

Clean Energy Jobs in Pennsylvania

Clean Energy Jobs | Opportunities for Industry and Business | Costs of Inaction

Clean Energy Jobs in Pennsylvania Less Carbon, More Jobs: This map locates some of the hundreds of clean energy businesses in Pennsylvania.

Clean energy already provides thousands of Pennsylvania workers with good jobs during hard times. This fact sheet collects several sources of information showing how accelerating the clean-energy transition will benefit Pennsylvania's economy — and, conversely, the costs and consequences of failing to act.

Clean Energy Jobs

Less Carbon, More Jobs

This map1 tells the story of existing companies across Pennsylvania that will get new customers and create jobs with a cap on carbon.2

Profiles of Clean Energy Businesses in Pennsylvania

Axion Power International in Newcastle and Gamesa in Langhorne are two of the many businesses already flourishing from the rising interest in clean energy. Read their stories to learn more about clean energy jobs.3

The Clean Energy Economy [PDF]

By 2007, 2,934 businesses had generated more than 38,763 Pennsylvania jobs [PDF] in the clean energy economy, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Venture capitalists are investing $233 million in Pennsylvania's clean energy businesses.4

Opportunities for Industry and Business

Both the Department of Energy and McKinsey and Company have identified significant, untapped opportunities for Pennsylvania's industries to prosper under a clean energy economy.

Costs of Inaction

According to a June 2009 report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, inaction on global warming will cause significant harm to the Northeast.10 The University of Maryland has concluded that these effects have heavy economic consequences for Pennsylvania.11

The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that global warming will hurt the health of Pennsylvania's citizens [PDF], as well as its transportation infrastructure.12 And the National Wildlife Federation shows how global warming will damage the 36,000 jobs provided by Pennsylvania's hunting and angling industries [PDF].13

Start the Clean Energy Economy Now

A nationwide cap on greenhouse gas emissions would jumpstart a new energy economy in Pennsylvania and accelerate the growth of good-paying, clean jobs. If we fail to act soon, the new markets for clean energy will grow overseas instead.

Pennsylvania can't afford to miss out on one of the largest new economic revolutions.
www.edf.org/CleanEnergyJobs

  1. Less Carbon, More Jobs: Mapping the Green Economy: Pennsylvania. Environmental Defense Fund. http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=34065&state=PA
  2. Less Carbon, More Jobs: Why a Cap on Carbon? Environmental Defense Fund. http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=36571
  3. Less Carbon, More Jobs: Company Case Studies and Profiles. Environmental Defense Fund. http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=35947
  4. Susan Urahn, Joshua Reichert, et. al.: The Clean Energy Economy: Executive Summary. June 2009. The Pew Charitable Trusts. p. 10. http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Clean_Economy_Report_Web.pdf
  5. Environmental Defense Fund: Mitigating industry costs and improving competitiveness with a carbon cap: Profile on Steel. Citing the Department of Energy: Save Energy Now Case Study: Steel. 2008. http://www.edf.org/documents/9748_Mitigating-industry-costs-Steel-Pennsylvania.pdf#page=2
  6. Environmental Defense Fund: Mitigating industry costs and improving competitiveness with a carbon cap: Profile on Metal Manufacturing. Citing the Department of Energy c/o Oak Ridge National Lab: Save Energy Now Program. 2009. http://www.edf.org/documents/9773_Mitigating-industry-costs-Metal-Manufacturing-pennsylvania.pdf
  7. Environmental Defense Fund: Mitigating industry costs and improving competitiveness with a carbon cap: Profile on Chemicals. Citing McKinsey and Company: Global GHG Abatement Cost Curve for the Chemicals Sector, Version 2.0, Societal Perspective, 2030 Timeframe. 2009. http://www.edf.org/documents/9785_Mitigating-industry-costs-Chemicals-Pennsylvania.pdf
  8. Environmental Defense Fund: Mitigating industry costs and improving competitiveness with a carbon cap: Profile on Cement. Citing McKinsey and Company: Global GHG Abatement Cost Curve for the Cement Sector, Version 2.0, Societal Perspective, 2030 Timeframe. 2009. http://www.edf.org/documents/9796_Mitigating-industry-costs-Cement-Pennsylvania.pdf
  9. National Wildlife Federation: "Charting a New Path for Pennsylvania's Electricity Generation and Use." http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/statefactsheets.cfm
  10. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Report by the U.S. Global Change Research Program. http://www.globalchange.gov/us-impacts
  11. University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research: Assessing the Costs of Climate Change: Pennsylvania. 2008. http://www.cier.umd.edu/climateadaptation/
  12. Union of Concerned Scientists: Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Pennsylvania Communities and Ecosystems. 2003. http://ucsusa.org/assets/documents/global_warming/ucssummarypafinal.pdf
  13. National Wildlife Federation: Global Warming and Pennsylvania. 2009. http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/pdfs/Pennsylvania.pdf