Layoffs Surge in Clean Energy

This week, we look at sky-high layoffs in clean energy. How do we get people back to work?

The first major analysis of unemployment in the clean energy sector has been released for April. According to E2 and BW Research, nearly 600,000 jobs were lost in energy efficiency, manufacturing, electric vehicles and clean power and fuels.

We’ve seen a 17 percent drop in the green workforce since the start of the year. Those losses amount to double the employment growth in clean energy for the last three years.

It’s likely to get worse before it gets better. How much should we worry? And what sectors will come back the fastest?

Then, what do 200 of the world’s top economic advisers think about the most effective low-carbon solutions for economic recovery?

And finally, we’ll revisit wildfires. Why can’t California utilities, especially northern giant PG&E, get it right when it comes to fire prevention?

Recommended reading:

• E2: Clean energy Unemployment Claims April 2020
• NASEO & EFI: 2020 Energy & Employment Report
• The New Republic: There are Green Jobs Hiding in the Oilfields
• Oxford Report with Stern and Stiglitz: Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change?
• Axios: Clean energy and climate change unlikely to lead American recovery
• PG&E: Q1 Earnings Report
• CPUC: Draft Report
• CA Current: Wildfire Plans Riddled with Deficiencies
• Judge Alsup: Order Modifying Conditions of PG&E Probation
• GTM: Why California Residents Could See Even More Blackouts This Year
• L.A.Times: California Faces Perilous Fire Season as Coronavirus Threatens Firefighters

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