by Robert Adams
The decarbonization revolution is well underway. Despite the continuing debates about the threat of global warming, the signs of behavior change are all around us. Most car manufacturers now produce an electric model. Charging stations dot highway rest stops and store parking lots. Wind and solar farms are ubiquitous features on urban and rural landscapes. The signs highlight the new economic activity and opportunities the emerging green economy generates. All the recent economic activity could potentially expand the inclusive participation of women, communities of color, the formerly incarcerated, and other underrepresented groups in well-paying jobs and occupations. If we properly execute the shift from fossil fuels, America could harvest a “diversity dividend.” Diversity Month is ideal for examining the relationship between decarbonization and a more diverse labor future.
“Electrify everything,” the mantra of the decarbonization revolution, characterizes a two-prong strategy aimed at reconfiguring energy supply and demand. “Electrify everything” means building more clean power generation facilities, long-distance transmission lines, and local distribution wires to increase the generation and distribution of clean energy. On the supply side, “electrify everything” focuses on increased clean energy generation from solar, wind, and hydro sources instead of fossil fuels. Plans call for the doubling of solar and wind energy production. Saul Griffith, Sam Calisch, and Alex Laskey predict the move to “electrify everything” will triple or quadruple electricity generation, increasing the current output of 450GW to 1,500-2,000GW. There is a rush to build the infrastructure needed to supply clean energy.
The demand side calls for a similar infrastructure build-out. Achieving zero emissions necessitates abandoning fossil fuel-dependent technologies like air conditioners, gas stoves, and internal combustion engines. Readily available clean energy-dependent technologies – heat pumps, electric induction stoves, and electric vehicles – replace polluting machines. “Electrify everything” involves more than flipping a switch. Griffith et al. estimate it translates into the electrification of 250 million vehicles, 130 million households, 6 million trucks, and 5.5 million commercial buildings. The electrification numbers indicate how the decarbonized economy impacts reverberate beyond energy production and distribution.
Like the rapid expansion of America’s industrial capacity during World War II, the emerging green economy promises to dramatically increase the nation’s economic output and opportunities. Economists estimate that “electrify everything” will cost $20-25 trillion in public and private spending over the next 20 years. Green technologies are more labor intensive than fossil fuel energy counterparts. Therefore, the unprecedented spending creates an additional 25 million jobs; five million are long-term, sustainable positions. Even the energy industry will benefit from decarbonization; the cleaner energy paradigm will double the energy sector’s labor force from 1.8 million workers to 3.6 million workers. The anticipated economic benefits are coming, and we are responsible for ensuring inclusive growth.
The “electrifying everything” movement opens new inclusion possibilities. The green economy’s potential to expand inclusion for underrepresented groups – women, people of color, differently abled, youth, formerly incarcerated, etc. – extends beyond the increased number of jobs. Additional green job characteristics make them attractive solutions for expanding diverse economic participation. Overall, the decarbonized economy offers lower barriers to entry. Clean energy jobs require less education, provide comparatively higher wages, and shrink the gender wage gap.
A Brookings’ research report, Advancing Inclusion Through Clean Energy Jobs, discovered that half of all clean energy workers only possess a high school diploma. Yet, their hourly wages exceeded the national wages averages by 8-19%. Similarly, the building trades posted a narrower gender pay gap. Women in the building trades earned 97% of what their male counterparts earned, outpacing the national average of 83%. Decarbonizing the economy presents a unique prospect to build a more diverse workforce earning a living wage.
The green economy’s potential “diversity dividend” won’t magically appear. Only intentional action can translate the possibility into concrete outcomes. While we are far from reaching the peak of “electrify everything,” the American economy already faces a shortage of electricians. A survey by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported that 79% of firms experienced trouble finding qualified electricians. The aging of the electrician labor force – 21% of electricians will retire in the next decade – portends to exacerbate current labor shortages. The current labor shortage of electricians offers an environment ripe for innovative thinking and actions. Actively recruiting from underrepresented groups holds the potential to accelerate the diversification of the electrical workforce.
Locally, the current diversity effort positions IBEW Local 103 and NECA Greater Boston ideally to reap the “diversity dividend.” The “electrify everything” movement supercharges its ongoing workforce diversification efforts. IBEW Local 103 and NECA Greater Boston developed a comprehensive diversity approach. A diverse workforce is only one of their diversity goals. The IBEW Local 103 and NECA Greater Boston’s comprehensive strategy starts with supporting pre-apprentice programs that attract underrepresented groups to the building trades. It is bookended with specifically designed support for women and minority-owned electrical contracting businesses. The large apprentice classes, yielding record numbers of women and people of color, reflect the growing success of their diversity efforts. The “electrify everything” push adds new momentum to existing initiatives aimed at expanding the diversity of the electrical field.
The time for action is now. The shift from fossil fuels triggered by the “electrify everything” process is accelerating. The decarbonized economy offers new opportunities to promote a more inclusive economy. Only intentional policies and practices will allow us to take full advantage of the predicted “diversity windfall” from the emerging green economy.
Robert Adams
Robert Adams, Ph.D., is principal with Sargent Adams Consulting LLC, and is a member of the IBEW Local 103 Empower DEI Advisory Council, Boston.
