GREEN FOR ALL HILL BRIEFING URGES CONGRESS TO SUPPORT GREEN-COLLAR JOB INITIATIVES

WASHINGTON, DC  – Green For All, an organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy, today urged Congress to take critical steps to support and promote a robust green economy.  Green For All, in collaboration with The Apollo Alliance, Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Center for American Progress, and The Workforce Alliance, and together with their Congressional champions, organized the Hill briefing to discuss the promise and practice of green-collar job initiatives and what federal policymakers can do to help develop an inclusive green economy, including fully funding the Green Jobs Act of 2007 and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. 

“Presidential candidates are talking about the promise of green-collar jobs as they campaign across the country,” said Van Jones, founder and president of Green For All.  “That promise is real and our green future is already being invented at the local level.  We are here today to make sure all communities nationwide reap work, health, and wealth benefits in this changing green economy.”

The briefing focused on two recently released reports, Green-Collar Jobs in America’s Cities and Greener Pathways, which outline a strategic framework for developing green-collar job initiatives and pathways out of poverty at the local and state levels. It also focused on the need for federal support to fully realize the potential of the green movement.  This includes federal funding of two important new programs created by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) – the Green Jobs Act and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program.

"Mayors are already working in their cities to develop America's potential for green jobs and green careers, but we know that full funding by Congress of the Green Jobs Act and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program will dramatically accelerate these efforts," said Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, who is also president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The Green Jobs Act, authorized at $125 million, is an initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and to train workers for jobs in a range of renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.  It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating ‘green pathways out of poverty.’  The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, authorized at $2 billion, is a grant program for local governments to use for retrofitting their communities to save energy and combat global warming, creating tens of thousands of green-collar jobs in the process.

“Solving global warming means investment and investment means jobs,” said Bracken Hendricks, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.  “It’s time to stop thinking of protecting the environment as a cost, and start recognizing that ‘going green’ will rebuild a stronger economy on the solid foundation of clean energy, modern infrastructure, and advanced technology.”

In addition to Jones, Palmer, and Hendricks, the briefing also featured Elsa Barboza, campaign coordinator for SCOPE and the Los Angeles Apollo Alliance, and Michael Peck, spokesperson for Gamesa Corporation.  The sponsors of the briefing, and strong supporters of an inclusive green economy, were Senators Hillary Clinton (NY) and Bernard Sanders (VT), and Representatives Hilda Solis (CA) and John Tierney (MA).

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About Green For All
Green For All is a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.  By advocating for local, state and federal commitments to job creation, job training, and entrepreneurial opportunities in the emerging green economy – especially for people from disadvantaged communities – Green For All fights both poverty and pollution at the same time.

For more information, please visit www.greenforall.org