Green for all Launches at the Clinton Global Initiative
New York, NY — Green for All, a new campaign focused on bringing “green collar” jobs to urban areas, launched today at the Clinton Global Initiative. The group, created by Van Jones, co- Founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, seeks to capitalize on the exploding green economy while ensuring that the coming green economic wave lifts all boats.
“It’s time the African American community had a part in the discussion on climate change,” said Jones. “We’re not going to solve global warming just with expensive consumer choices like buying hybrid cars and shopping for organic food. People need to realize that you don’t have to be white or wealthy to benefit from going green.”
The Green for All campaign is a bold effort to harness the growing power of the green economic revolution to fight the war on poverty. By securing job training for 250,000 workers from urban communities for the emerging green job market, the program will provide new avenues of opportunity for those who have traditionally been left behind by the nation’s economic growth. It will also give the crusade against global warming a broader social base, extending the green revolution to the
neglected streets of cities like Oakland, Detroit, Baltimore and New Orleans.
Green for All was launched today with the support of over 200 businesses and organizations.
“The green economy is being slowed because there aren’t enough qualified workers. I’ve had solar industry entrepreneurs tell me the only thing slowing their business down is the lack of qualified installers,” said Jones. “Green Collar jobs, such as installing solar panels or making homes energy-efficient, are local jobs. They can’t be outsourced to China and India. Solar panels must be installed on the American homes that need them.”
The effort already has gained traction among supporters. The city government of Oakland, California recently invested $250,000 in green-collar job training. In August, Congress approved a bill that would authorize $125 million for training more than 30,000 green-collar workers a year.
“By giving the urban poor an economic stake in the environmental movement, Green for All demonstrates how the green revolution must embrace all races and social groups,” said Jones. “This is the next wave of the environmental movement in minority communities: we are moving beyond equal protection to equal opportunity.”
