Supporting Clean Energy Jobs

We are on the brink of a climate crisis and must urgently move our energy supply away from the extraction of fossil fuels and towards renewable energy. Passing a Green New Deal means creating millions of good-paying, union jobs with strong benefits, social supports, and safety standards that prioritize workers.

Government and industry must be doing more to help train more people to enter the skilled trades and keep creating more and more high-paying jobs in construction to help offset job losses in the fossil fuel industry. As we work to decarbonize our economy and evolve to a clean energy future, it’s our responsibility to protect and support the workers who power our nation.

Too many Democrats talk a big game about prioritizing workers, but my track record shows my commitment to ensuring workers always have a seat at the table. When I was first elected to office in 2008, the first amendment I ever introduced focused on creating new green jobs. Over a decade later, this year we began working on the creation of a Vermont Civilian Climate Corps which would formalize the transition to green energy jobs at a statewide level. We can advance this same model nationwide.

A Civilian Climate Corps and green jobs guarantee would do just that: implement workforce development and training to ensure that everyone has access to a green economy and infrastructure jobs. Importantly, the jobs created will be made available first to workers on the frontlines of the climate crisis, veterans, formerly incarcerated people, and people with disabilities, and these jobs will invest in and revitalize communities throughout this country.

I will continue to be a partner for organized labor and working people in Washington as we work to address the urgent need for climate action and build a livable future for us all.