Climate Jobs

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) examines the state of 'climate jobs'—employment focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation—within the United States, detailing sector-specific employment numbers for 2020 and the potential for future growth through policy and investment.

• In 2020, there were more than 4.1 million climate jobs in the United States, although the COVID-19 pandemic caused an eight percent decline in climate employment that year.
• Energy efficiency was the largest climate employment sector in 2020, supporting 2.1 million jobs. The highest concentrations of these jobs were found in California (283,800), Texas (152,100), New York (121,000), and Florida (108,900). While these jobs decreased by 11.4 percent in 2020, a 10.1 percent increase is expected in 2021.
• Other climate sectors in 2020 included energy transmission, distribution, and storage (763,000 jobs), renewable energy (504,600 jobs), clean vehicles (261,300 jobs), and renewable fuels (103,000 jobs). Notably, wind energy added 2,000 jobs in 2020, and wind turbine service technicians and solar photovoltaic installers are projected to be among the fastest-growing occupations in the economy over the next decade.
• Climate adaptation and resilience jobs are emerging across all 50 states, with the most opportunities in New York, Washington, D.C., and California. The American Society of Adaptation Professionals represents 38 members employing over 100,000 people, and 2,200 professional-level adaptation jobs were hired for between 2019 and 2020.
• Significant future job growth is possible through specific targets and policies: achieving 50 to 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 could create 500,000–600,000 jobs in battery storage, wind, and solar. Additionally, a national Clean Electricity Payment Program could generate 7.7 million job-years over ten years, and every $1 billion invested in flood resilience is estimated to create 40,000 jobs.

APA

Bertrand, S. (2021). Climate Jobs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-climate-jobs-2021

Chicago

Bertrand, Savannah. Climate Jobs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2021. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-climate-jobs-2021.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bertrand |first1=Savannah |title=Climate Jobs |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=23 September 2021 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-climate-jobs-2021 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bertrand2021climate, author = {Bertrand, Savannah}, title = {{Climate Jobs}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-climate-jobs-2021}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }