With less than two months to go until Election Day, voters are eager to hear more than the usual political rhetoric or platitudes from their elected leaders. In the midst of an economic downturn due to the impact of COVID-19, our country’s leaders from both sides of the aisle should come together and immediately determine and implement the necessary next steps to strengthen our economy. People want to see tangible, practical solutions to help rebuild our communities, and they rightly want their leaders to put aside partisanship, find common ground, and act quickly.
Immediate, bipartisan action supporting the clean energy sector, which has had a demonstrated record of success prior to the pandemic, will help repower our nation and create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. Over the past five years, the clean energy sector has had 70% faster job growth than the overall economy. These occupations — in renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernization, clean vehicles, and clean fuels — accounted for 3.4 million jobs nationwide at the start of this year.
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Unfortunately, more than 15% of the clean energy workforce has been forced to file for unemployment since the pandemic hit. Immediate action in Washington could save these jobs and create even more; for example, a recent report concludes that a targeted, strategic clean energy stimulus package of $99.2 billion would yield $330 billion in economic activity, more than triple the investment and create more than 860,000 jobs.
Beyond the convincing job-creation track record the clean energy sector has, there is also an existing bipartisan consensus behind it that our leaders should tap into. In every area of the country, clean energy enjoys public support because this job-creating economic engine also helps curb greenhouse gas emissions and strengthens our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
That sentiment has helped drive bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, too. In August, a group of Republicans in the U.S. Senate wrote a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging him to “consider policies that will bolster jobs and innovation across the clean energy economy” as part of future coronavirus relief measures.
Last week, policymakers from both parties convened online for National Clean Energy Week. Going virtual helped the fourth-annual symposium expand the discussion beyond Washington, D.C., and into homes and businesses across America. Participants had the opportunity to hear directly from Republican and Democratic policymakers and top private sector leaders in clean energy investment and innovation. This symposium was an opportunity for stakeholders to find common ground to strengthen and grow the clean energy sector.
Supporting clean energy solutions for a stronger America is an immediate bipartisan opportunity that will produce results for the American people. Our leaders need only look to the millions of jobs that have already been created by the clean energy economy and listen to what voters on both the Right and the Left are telling them. In a contentious election season, a win-win that creates jobs and protects our environment will go a long way to restoring citizens’ faith in their government and strengthening our shared future.
Kelly Ayotte is a senior adviser to Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions and serves on the board of directors of Blackstone Group, Blink Health, Boston Properties, Caterpillar, and Bae Systems North America. Mary Landrieu is a senior policy adviser for Van Ness Feldman, a registered lobbying firm on behalf of Global LNG and Enterprise Products Operating. Both are former U.S. senators.
