Poll: Missourians Overwhelmingly Believe That Clean Energy Investments Will Create New Jobs
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver Joins Business Panel to Discuss How Clean Energy Can Key Missouri’s Economic Revival
Kansas City, MO— A new Missouri public opinion survey shows that by a 2-1 margin, Missourians believe that investment in clean technologies will help revive the state’s economy and create jobs. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II joined a panel of business leaders and economic development experts today to discuss the poll results and how bringing clean energy businesses to Missouri will rebuild the state’s dwindling tax base, which has led to a torrent of recent Kansas City school closures and other cuts to vital services.
The roundtable discussion was sponsored by the Apollo Alliance, a national coalition of business, labor and environmental leaders that launched a chapter in Missouri last year. The statewide poll, commissioned by Apollo and conducted late last month by the polling firm Research 2000, showed that Missourians are strong believers in the opportunity for economic recovery posed by boosting investment in clean energy manufacturing. Fifty-seven percent of poll respondents said that investments in clean technologies will help revive the state’s economy, while only 24 percent disagreed.
“Policies that drive clean energy demand are the key to getting our economy back on track and creating jobs for the people of Missouri,” said Rep. Cleaver.
According to research by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and Center for American Progress, a $150 billion annual national investment in clean energy resulting from Recovery Act funding and climate and energy legislation will generate major employment benefits for Missouri.
“The combination of Recovery Act funding and proposed federal clean energy investments could lead to a net increase of approximately $2.9 billion in investment revenue and 36,000 new green jobs in Missouri,” said Michael Peck, an Apollo Alliance Board Member and director of external relations for wind energy company Gamesa USA.
The Pew Charitable Trusts released a national economic study last year which showed that green jobs grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall job creation between 1998 and 2007. During that time, clean energy jobs in Missouri grew at twice the rate of overall jobs, and the state now boasts more than 1,000 green businesses which employ nearly 12,000 people.
Chris Chung, CEO of the economic development group Missouri Partnership, said it is impossible to ignore the potential of clean energy industries. “Green technology represents arguably the most promising opportunity for domestic and international businesses to create new jobs and prosperity here in Missouri,” he said. “This path to success can be accelerated by public policy that invests in helping businesses and customers prepare to meet the growing demand for clean energy.”
The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009, would put a cap on carbon and establish a Renewable Energy Standard that will generate unprecedented demand for clean energy, its components and systems. According to news reports, U.S. Senators John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, will soon unveil a climate and clean energy bill they hope will gain enough bipartisan support to pass the long-gridlocked Senate.
The House energy bill would provide capital for small and mid-sized manufacturers to become more energy efficient and retool to expand into the clean energy supply chain. Once enacted, these investments – based on U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s “Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act” – will create or retain at least 680,000 direct manufacturing jobs across the country and nearly 2 million more jobs in related industries over the next five years.
