E2 Webinar: Clean energy industry estimated to lose 850,000 jobs due to COVID-19
/On May 13, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) reported that the clean energy industry has lost nearly 600,000 jobs since March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and estimates a total future loss of 850,000 jobs—which represents roughly 25% of the 3+ million US clean energy jobs.
The Advanced Energy Economy has also reported that 84% of clean energy companies have paused or cancelled projects, and that 30 to 40% of companies have reported hiring freezes or losses. These trends will have negative impacts on job opportunities and employment for the veteran community—which comprises nearly 10% of all US energy jobs.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, veteran unemployment was at an all time low in 2019—2.3% compared with Total US Unemployment of 3.6%. In April 2020, US and veteran unemployment had increased to 14.7% and 11.7% respectively. Veteran employment in the energy industry as a percentage of total jobs has been going down over the last 5 years and these impacts due to COVID-19 present new challenges.
Veterans Advanced Energy Project Founder and Co-Director, Dan Misch, joined E2 for a webinar titled “Oil, Clean Energy, and National Security” to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting the clean energy industry, jobs, and the veteran community. You can watch his remarks in the video below.
Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors and others who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. E2 is a 2019-2020 sponsor of the Veterans Advanced Energy Project.
The Veterans Advanced Energy Project is designed to drive US leadership in advanced energy by recruiting, equipping, and empowering military veterans who understand the importance of the evolving energy landscape to our future security and prosperity. The Veterans Advanced Energy Project is managed by the Global Energy Center within the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit. www.AtlanticCouncil.org
