Golden opportunity for green jobs

Today columnist Nat Bullard argues that the factory construction boom in the US can churn out not just EVs and chips, but a workforce with climate-enhancing skills. You can read and share a free version of this story on Bloomberg.com. Subscribe to Bloomberg for unlimited access to climate and energy news, and to receive Bloomberg Green magazine.

By Nathaniel Bullard

You may have heard that the US is in the midst of a manufacturing boom. Thanks to a combination of the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act and a general interest in re-shoring US capacity, manufacturers’ construction spending has reached an annual rate of $190 billion. That is double the rate of just a year ago. Manufacturing as a share of US private-sector construction has not been this high since at least 1990, when government data sets begin. 

Much of that construction is semiconductor fabrication plants, while another large portion is facilities for making electric vehicles, batteries and clean energy equipment such as solar panels. Regardless of the exact end product, the workforce building these factories and making these goods is growing, and it now has a chance to upskill itself in a climate-positive way. 

Two trades key to the construction sector, engineering and electrical, are already in record employment territory. Heavy and civil engineering employment has rebounded from its pandemic-era low to more than 1.1 million last month. As of April, electrical contractors number more than a million as well. 

With the US government providing potefntially $1 trillion of capital under the energy and climate provisions of the IRA, employment in skilled construction, engineering and electrical roles will almost certainly increase further. That presents opportunities for creating new, durable skills within growing trades. 

Three opportunities in particular come to mind, which bridge today’s labor force to tomorrow’s demand and its climate imperatives.

The first is training in the most energy-efficient building techniques. That includes learning what the most efficient materials are and how best to install them to reduce the heating or cooling needs of manufacturing facilities. It could also include training on heat pump installation and integration. Heat pumps are not just for residential or commercial applications, after all (though their useful temperatures top out at around 400F or 200C, too low for some industrial processes). 

This training might also cover integrating renewable power into tomorrow’s factories. Flat roofs are a ready-made home for solar power, and large construction sites could host batteries.

The second opportunity is to train civil engineers in building for a more volatile climate, one that is consistently drier but periodically wetter, generally warmer but at times shockingly cold. That is important for the construction of buildings themselves, of course, but equally so for earlier stages of that process. Site selection and preparation must now contend with more extreme conditions. A professional labor force adept at anticipating new extremes — and working to accommodate them in the most economical way possible — will be essential. 

A final opportunity is less concrete (literally), but extremely important. That is developing a workforce comfortable with (and capable of) quick, streamlined planning and approval processes. 

There is a reason that energy professionals of all political persuasions and across technology fields talk about speeding up US permitting. We have lots of new energy and climate assets that need building and lots of companies that want to build them. 

Getting the interconnection queue for the power grid moving is mostly the domain of lawmakers, regulators and other government officials. It is not strictly in the realm of factory builders and operators. But every aspect of the post-IRA US climate boom should move as quickly as possible so we can decarbonize the economy as much as possible.

The growing skilled labor force of today’s manufacturing boom can lead by example with fast, efficient project timelines, and ideally provide the impetus for the same pace in other sectors. 

Nat Bullard is a senior contributor to BloombergNEF and writes the Sparklines column for Bloomberg Green. He advises early-stage climate technology companies and climate investors.

Dozen of countries have enacted climate targets through legislation, but the question is rarely put to ordinary people for a vote. Switzerland’s distinctive approach to democracy means its voters will have an unusually direct say in how the government deals with reducing its emissions. This Sunday the country will hold a national vote on its target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Recent polling shows the measure is likely to pass, but the margins have been tightening. 

It’s definitely hotter. Global temperatures during the first 11 days of June have hit the highest level on record for the time of the year. Rising temperatures signal that Europe may be in for another summer of extremely hot weather, while other parts of the globe grapple with the return of the El Niño phenomenon. 

The EU needs a tough target. The European Union should reduce greenhouse gases by as much as 95% (relative to 1990 levels) by 2040 to achieve its objective of reaching climate neutrality 10 years later, according to the bloc’s advisers. 

LGIM extends its blacklist. The UK’s biggest fund manager said it’s expanding the universe of assets it blacklists due to climate concerns. The list now applies to funds with almost £158 billion ($200 billion).

By Pratik Parija and Brian K. Sullivan

More than a hundred thousand people have been evacuated across India and Pakistan as cyclone Biparjoy is set to make a landfall within hours.

The cyclone follows devastating rains in Pakistan last year that flooded about a third of the nation, killing 1,700 people, displacing millions, and causing about $30 billion in losses and damages. It will further complicate the country’s efforts to revive the economy at a time when it has to make billions of dollars of external debt payments.

The western Indian state of Gujarat, which will bear the brunt of the “very severe” category storm, has evacuated more than 74,000 people, the Press Trust of India reported. Neighboring Pakistan has so far moved almost 77,000 people from Sindh, according to a statement from the provincial government.

In the US, sluggish weather patterns across the country have created a dome of heat about to bake Texas, said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center.

Excessive heat watches and advisories cover a large part of eastern and southern Texas, as well as neighboring Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service.

The extreme temperatures could push electricity demand to record levels in the Lone Star State this week and they may linger. The US Climate Prediction Center warns there is a moderate chance of excessive heat in Texas and Louisiana through at least June 24 and Houston and the coast could be baking through early July.

“It looks like it is going to have some staying power,” Hurley said.

Meanwhile, smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to cause problems for parts of the country. Air quality alerts are up across Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

Trillions of dollars are needed to shift the world to a low-carbon future but where’s it all going to come from? This week on the Zero podcast, Akshat Rathi talks with Avinash Persaud, a key advisor to Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and architect of the Bridgetown Agenda, about his plan to turn a trickle of billions into a flood of trillions. Listen now — and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Google to get new episodes every Thursday.

Do you have a compelling climate story? The Bloomberg Green Docs competition is open to all eligible filmmakers who would like to compete to win a $25,000 grand prize for a short climate documentary. Learn more: https://www.bloomberg.com/greendocs

Calling all climate storytellers: The Hollywood Climate Summit is an annual conference that brings together thousands of entertainment and media professionals to take action on climate. We gather filmmakers, artists, executives, activists, and other aligned experts for multiple days of interactive programming that inspires ideas and builds long-term relationships. For more information and tickets visit: https://www.hollywoodclimatesummit.com/2023

Among the summit’s sponsors is Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization founded by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent company Bloomberg LP.

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