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—in the United States. It details employment figures across energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean transportation, and resilience sectors for 2020, noting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and projecting future growth opportunities linked to federal investment and policy changes.

• In 2020, there were more than 4.1 million climate jobs in the United States, although the total number of climate jobs decreased by eight percent that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Energy efficiency was the largest sector of climate employment in 2020, supporting 2.1 million jobs, with the highest concentrations in California, Texas, New York, and Florida. While these jobs fell 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), and clean vehicles (261,300 jobs). Within the clean vehicle sector, employment in electric and hybrid electric vehicles grew by eight and six percent, respectively, despite the pandemic.
• Climate adaptation and resilience employment is an emerging field; the American Society of Adaptation Professionals represents 38 members employing over 100,000 people. Professional-level adaptation hires totaled 1,000 in 2019 and 1,200 in 2020, with the most opportunities found in New York, Washington, D.C., and California.
• Future growth potential is significant: achieving 50 to 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 could create 500,000–600,000 jobs in wind, solar, and battery storage. Additionally, a national Clean Electricity Payment Program could generate 7.7 million job-years over the next decade.

APA

Bertrand, S. (2021). Climate Jobs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2021_v10.pdf

Chicago

Bertrand, Savannah. Climate Jobs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2021. https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2021_v10.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bertrand |first1=Savannah |title=Climate Jobs |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=September 2021 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2021_v10.pdf |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/files/FactSheet_Climate_Jobs_2021_v10.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }