Green Recovery: Create Good Jobs and Build a Low-Carbon Economy
This 2008 report, commissioned by the Center for American Progress (CAP), outlines a green recovery program to strengthen the U.S. economy over the short and long-term. The document recommends spending $100 billion over the next two years in six green infrastructure areas to expand job opportunities, stabilize the price of oil and reduce global warming.
The report is structured as “a down-payment” on the 10-year policy program outlined by CAP in “Capturing the Energy Opportunity: Creating a Low-Carbon Economy.”
The report recommends $100 billion of investment in six key green infrastructure areas:
- Green building retrofits
- Mass transit and freight rail
- “Smart” electrical grid systems
- Wind power
- Solar power
- Next-generation biofuels
The report proceeds to outline potential (primarily Federal) funding sources for this initiative, as well as to discuss its projected direct, indirect and induced effects on the labor market.
The report is an excellent source for people interested in the role that Federal policy can play in creating a low-carbon economy. The report provides an appendix describing techniques for generating job estimates that may be applicable at the local level as well.
