The (green) workers are going home

Feb 24, 2023 View in browser   By Debra Kahn THE WEEK THAT WAS Green jobs are the same manufacturing jobs that are facing worker shortages. | David McNew/Getty Images WHITHER WORKERS — Green jobs are here. Where are the workers? The same booming labor market that has given President Joe Biden the lowest unemployment rate since the 1960s is also creating a hiring bottleneck for the construction and manufacturing companies that are central to his climate agenda, Zack Colman reports. Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act includes $369 billion in clean energy incentives that are meant to send a signal to U.S. businesses — encouraging them to build and deploy electric cars, carbon-free energy sources and less-wasteful appliances. And it appears to be working: More than 100,000 clean-energy job openings have sprung up across the U.S. since Biden signed the climate law six months ago, according to Climate Power, a coalition of environmental groups. But there are clouds on the horizon. The U.S. construction industry was short 413,000 workers as of December, while 764,000 manufacturing sector jobs remained open, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And McKinsey & Co. expects 550,000 new energy transition jobs will become available by 2030, about 10 percent of which may be filled by people leaving the oil and gas industry. “The first thing I heard from everyone was the same thing: We can’t find people to work,” Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) said of a recent visit to his manufacturing-heavy district in northern Ohio. “That’s inhibiting what they can do.” It's an acknowledged issue on both sides of the aisle. “Having the technicians and the engineers and skilled mechanics, that is going to be a challenge in the United States,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a prominent Democratic clean energy proponent whose 2020 presidential campaign platform helped shape some of Biden’s policies.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     Sustainable Finance BANK TRANSFER — Biden is wasting no time in filling World Bank President David Malpass' shoes. A week after Malpass said he would step down by July, Biden nominated former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the bank — a bit of a left-field choice that caused head-scratching among climate advocates who cheered Malpass' resignation, as Zack and Ben White report. “Biden has chosen a planet-wrecking CEO for World Bank President,” said Bronwen Tucker, Public Finance Campaign Co-Manager at Oil Change International. “This is the sadly predictable outcome of a broken process, but he shouldn’t be allowed to name one in the first place.” Others were more sanguine. “The White House has gone for a bit of an outsider who might shake things up,” said Sonia Dunlop of environmental think tank E3G. “He’s used to pushing big change, big change management stuff through big organizations — and that’s what we need at the World Bank.” WEIRD SCIENCE SOROS VS. THE SUN — Billionaire philanthropist George Soros appears to be turning his attention to geoengineering, Corbin Hiar reports for POLITICO's E&E News. Soros announced his support for a proposal to increase cloud cover at the top of the world to protect Arctic ice in a speech last week at the Munich Security Conference. The fix he favors is a targeted form of solar geoengineering that’s being researched by the University of Cambridge's Center for Climate Repair. The center is proposing to use more than 500 ocean vessels powered by waves and wind to spray seawater into the atmosphere during the Arctic summer. The ships would imitate the natural process that occurs when waves break over the ocean, creating tiny droplets of water vapor that could become clouds. What's fueling Soros' interest in adding climate to his philanthropy portfolio? The melting of Greenland’s ice, he said. “The melting of the Greenland ice sheet would increase the level of the oceans by seven meters. That poses a threat to the survival of our civilization,” he said. WASHINGTON WATCH TRAIN TO NOWHERE — The furor over the derailment of a Norfolk Southern Corp. train carrying hazardous materials through Ohio is still percolating through the political class, but if past is any predictor, rail industry lobbying may carry the day, Tim Cama reports for POLITICO's E&E News. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is proposing to overhaul rail safety rules, including crew-size and braking requirements. All four senators representing Pennsylvania and Ohio are also expressing support for new safety rules to prevent future disasters, including new crew size requirements. But the industry has a rich history of effective lobbying to fend off safety regulations. It's prevailed in fights over braking, train control and staffing. The Association of American Railroads — the freight rail industry’s main lobbying group — has called for policymakers to hold off on pursuing policy changes while the National Transportation Safety Board investigates last week's crash. Steven Ditmeyer, a former Federal Railroad Administration official and rail technology consultant, told Tim the industry “seems to oppose every new safety regulation outright.” ESG LOVIN’ — Four members of Congress introduced legislation Thursday seeking to allow ESG investing as it relates to retirement plans, Allison Prang reports. The Freedom to Invest in a Sustainable Future Act, introduced by Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Dean Philips (D-Minn.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.), aims to allow workplace retirement plans to take ESG factors into account in their investing. The bill comes after the Biden administration loosened restrictions enacted during the Trump administration related to taking ESG factors into account in 401(k) funds. “This bill would help provide workers and retirees a pathway to reach that secure retirement and invest in a sustainable world for future generations,” DelBene said in prepared remarks. TESLA TRUCE — Democrats just can't quit Elon Musk, his provocations notwithstanding. California Gov. Gavin Newsom shared a stage with Musk on Wednesday to announce Tesla's new "engineering headquarters" in Silicon Valley, a year after he decamped for Texas amid frustration with the Golden State's "overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation.” “It’s a point of pride, always has been for me, that Tesla is a California company, started here first," Newsom said, as Lara Korte and Wes Venteicher report. The announcement came a week after Biden trumpeted a commitment from Tesla to make its massive electric vehicle charging network available to non-Tesla drivers — and a week after the automaker fired dozens of workers at the factory that makes components for those chargers, as Scott Waldman reported for POLITICO's E&E News. AROUND THE WORLD TRANSITION, EH — "Just transition" is no longer in vogue in Canada. "Sustainable jobs" is in, Philippe Fournier reports. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is pitching a Sustainable Jobs Plan, after talk of a “just transition” inspired anti-Justin Trudeau sentiment in Alberta and Saskatchewan. It could work: 52 percent of Canadians approve of moving the nation’s economy away from fossil fuels, a new poll finds. Legislation is expected to be proposed by June. YOU TELL US GAME ON — Happy Friday! Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com. Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free. That’s sustainability! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is helping fund a geothermal-fueled direct air capture plant somewhere in the U.S., the WaPo reports. — Bloomberg's editorial board thinks it's a good thing that the head of the United Arab Emirates' national oil company is the president of the next UN climate talks. — Hyundai is divesting from an Alabama auto parts plant after a Reuters investigation showed it was employing underage migrant workers.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.       Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman Allison Prang @AllisonPrang   Follow us

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