An alliance of California-based businesses and organizations has created the California Apollo Program and unveiled a strategy for creating renewable energy jobs in California.
The California Apollo Program notes that California has a large and productive economy – the eighth-largest in the world – driven by its skilled workforce, successful businesses and history of ingenuity and innovation. However, the ongoing economic recession has dragged down even the strongest economies, and while at the outset of the recession the overall employment in California dropped for the first time in five years, jobs in California's clean energy economy grew 5%.
If California's climate law withstands opposition and is implemented as scheduled, it is expected to generate up to $104 billion in economic activity by 2020, according to the alliance.
The Apollo Program recommends that the state take the following steps:
– Realize the economic opportunity of California's groundbreaking comprehensive climate law;
– Generate 33% of California's power from renewable sources by 2020 and prioritize in-state production;
– Upgrade California's existing buildings to world-class energy efficiency standards and ensure that new construction is green;
– Modernize the power grid to support clean energy generation and smart grid technology;
-Â Require smart, sustainable and equitable approaches to land use as California's communities grow; and
– Revitalize rural California by expanding environmentally sustainable renewable energy and carbon-sequestration projects.
SOURCE: California Apollo Alliance
