The governors of Washington, Oregon, and California, as well as the British Columbia premier released a report this week showing that, with a transition to a clean economy, the region would add over one million green jobs and $142 billion in GDP!
The report, West Coast Clean Economy: Opportunities for Investment & Accelerated Job Creation, also includes an action plan focused on making the region a clean economy leader. This is not just significant to the region, but also the world. This West Coast “mega-region” is apparently the world’s sixth largest economy. Looking at various cleantech sectors, from energy-efficient buildings to advanced transportation tech, the report found that the region’s $47-billion clean economy sector could triple in size by 2020 (with the right policies and partnerships).
The report’s authors were GLOBE Advisors and The Center for Climate Strategies, and the report was commissioned by the governors of the three U.S. states mentioned above and the Canadian premier under the Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC).
“We have proof that our actions are already working,” said Washington Governor and Pacific Coast Collaborative Chair Chris Gregoire. “Now we want to go even faster – and create up to one million jobs in the next decade through the 2012 Action Plan on Jobs. Through collaboration and low-carbon innovation, we have developed a win-win competitive strategy that will continue to work well for all of our jurisdictions.”
Taking Action
And, apparently, the PCC isn’t wasting any time — it is already acting on the report’s findings and has created the West Coast Action Plan on Jobs. This action plan was announced at the GLOBE 2012 Conference in Vancouver, Canada with the unveiling of the new report.
The action plan “provides a roadmap to a clean economy.” It focuses on a handful of key areas identified in the report and elsewhere “as having the highest potential for job growth and industrial development.” These key areas are:
- Energy Efficiency & Green Buildings
- Environmental Protection & Resource Management
- Clean Transportation
- Clean Energy Supply
Other than what’s already been stated above, some of the key findings of the report include the following:
- Research shows that clean economy jobs are more resilient to the volatility of the market, and better paid.
- A transition to a clean economy could increase GDP contribution in the region by up to $142 billion and increase investments well beyond that.
- The Action Plan allows all the participants to reap the benefits of each other’s geographic and infrastructural strengths, increasing competitiveness and driving investment and innovation.
Beyond the report (linked above), more info is available on the PCC website and you can check out some clean economy success stories at solutions-stories.org.
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