THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY IN RURAL AMERICA

The report analyzes how a $55 billion annual federal investment in clean energy and land restoration could generate nearly 260,000 rural jobs and $21.7 billion in annual value added for rural US economies. It identifies seven priority investment pathways: renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernization (transmission, distribution, and storage), environmental remediation of fossil fuel sites, tree restoration on federal and non-federal lands, and wildfire risk management. The analysis emphasizes that nearly 45% of these jobs would benefit economically disadvantaged rural counties. The document provides specific state-level data and proposes federal policy vehicles, such as tax credits and grant programs, to catalyze these investments.

• An annual federal investment of $55 billion across seven climate economy pathways, with $14.9 billion directed to rural counties, would support nearly 260,000 rural jobs for at least five years, totaling 1.3 million job-years.
• The proposed investments would generate $21.7 billion in annual value added for rural economies, including $12.9 billion in employee compensation and $1.6 billion in tax revenues.
• Economically disadvantaged rural counties, defined by the Distressed Communities Index, would capture nearly 45% of the created rural jobs (over 118,000 jobs) and $9.8 billion in annual added value.
• Investment in renewable energy ($18.8 billion national / $3.8 billion rural annually) would create 31,600 rural jobs and $3.4 billion in rural value added.
• Energy efficiency investments ($8.3 billion national / $2.1 billion rural annually) would support approximately 29,800 rural jobs and $2.9 billion in annual rural value added.
• Grid modernization through transmission, distribution, and storage ($19.6 billion national / $3.4 billion rural annually) would create 48,800 rural jobs and $5.8 billion in rural value added.
• Environmental remediation of abandoned fossil fuel infrastructure ($2.4 billion national / $1.3 billion rural annually) would support 14,600 rural jobs and $2 billion in rural value added.
• Tree restoration on non-federal lands ($4.3 billion national / $2.8 billion rural annually) is a major job driver, supporting 76,200 rural jobs and $3.9 billion in rural value added.
• Wildfire risk management ($1.5 billion national / $1.1 billion rural annually) would create 49,200 rural jobs and $3.3 billion in rural value added.
• Tree restoration on federal lands ($445 million national / $350 million rural annually) would support 9,200 rural jobs and $474 million in rural value added.
• In absolute terms, California, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Wyoming are the states that stand to gain the most in terms of rural job creation.
• The analysis suggests that every $1 million invested in the new climate economy pathways would generate 17.5 jobs and $1.5 million in value added within rural economies.

APA

SAHA, D., RUDEE, A., LESLIE-BOLE, H., & CYRS, T. (2021). THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY IN RURAL AMERICA. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2021-07/new-climate-economy-rural-america.pdf?VersionId=5CSkarKRGuxq8g0rtCVeFELu.e1eHtWt

Chicago

SAHA, DEVASHREE, ALEX RUDEE, HALEY LESLIE-BOLE, and TOM CYRS. THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY IN RURAL AMERICA. World Resources Institute, 2021. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2021-07/new-climate-economy-rural-america.pdf?VersionId=5CSkarKRGuxq8g0rtCVeFELu.e1eHtWt.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=SAHA |first1=DEVASHREE |last2=RUDEE |first2=ALEX |last3=LESLIE-BOLE |first3=HALEY |last4=CYRS |first4=TOM |title=THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY IN RURAL AMERICA |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=July 2021 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2021-07/new-climate-economy-rural-america.pdf?VersionId=5CSkarKRGuxq8g0rtCVeFELu.e1eHtWt |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{saha2021economic, author = {SAHA, DEVASHREE and RUDEE, ALEX and LESLIE-BOLE, HALEY and CYRS, TOM}, title = {{THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY IN RURAL AMERICA}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2021-07/new-climate-economy-rural-america.pdf?VersionId=5CSkarKRGuxq8g0rtCVeFELu.e1eHtWt}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }