City of Boston Releases Climate Ready Workforce Action Plan

Mayor Michelle Wu today released the Climate Ready Workforce Action Plan. This plan presents a comprehensive analysis of the workforce required to achieve the City’s climate goals across four priority areas—Building Decarbonization, Transportation Electrification, Clean Energy, and Resilience & Nature-Based Solutions—and outlines recommended strategies to support a just transition to a clean energy economy. 

“As we confront the daily impacts of climate change, Boston is taking steps to protect our families and our future,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “I am grateful to City departments for their comprehensive research and leadership. The Climate Ready Workforce Action Plan will connect residents to jobs that support a transition to a clean energy economy, creating opportunities in our neighborhoods and making Boston a home for everyone.”

Commissioned by the Worker Empowerment Cabinet in partnership with the Environment, Energy, and Open Space Cabinet, the release of the Climate Ready Workforce Action Plan marks the culmination of a year-long research project conducted by lead researchers Northeastern University’s Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy and their partners, the Burning Glass Institute, and TSK Energy Solutions. Community Labor United and Estolano Advisors provided research on apprenticeship opportunities and trends, as well as recommendations to support high-quality jobs and apprenticeships, ensuring that all Bostonians can access good, green jobs. Additionally, the plan incorporates feedback from 51 advisors, including City and State officials, training and education partners, labor partners, employer partners, and community leaders. 

"Boston, we are incredibly pleased to present the Climate Workforce Action Plan," said Trinh Nguyen, Chief of Worker Empowerment. "The research is clear. To build a climate-ready city, we must have a climate-ready workforce. We are using the critical findings and recommendations in this report to create training and career pipelines that will lead workers to high-quality jobs, address the effects of climate change, and meet employer and industry demands. Thank you to our partners whose valuable insights and support have made this work possible. Together, we will continue to advance the lives of all Boston workers in alignment with Mayor Wu’s commitment to creating a safe, healthy, and climate-resilient city."

"This report is the first of its kind, connecting Boston’s climate agenda to economic opportunity,” said Oliver Sellers-Garcia, Environment Commissioner and Green New Deal Director. “Our work to fight climate change will create good-paying jobs and a more inclusive workforce in Boston. When we protect our neighborhoods from pollution, sea level rise, and extreme weather, we are also creating economic opportunities for thousands of workers and their families.”

Boston is expected to see increased demand for workers across all green-related positions in the coming decades. Between now and 2050, efforts to design, build, and operate a clean energy economy and to ensure Boston’s climate resiliency will keep about 67,000 people employed each year. Approximately 10% of these jobs will be net new jobs that would not exist without the City’s climate mitigation and resilience strategies as outlined in the draft 2030 Climate Action Plan. The jobs will be in 45 occupations across six occupational categories.  Just over 50% of these jobs will be in the Building Trades.

Bureau of Labor Statistics projections indicate that between 2023 and 2033, demand for workers in “green” related occupations is projected to grow by 8.7%, while overall employment growth is expected to be only 5.7%. Researchers on this report project that Boston’s 2030 Climate Action Plan will sustain roughly 25% of jobs in these occupations by 2030 and potentially one out of every three green jobs by 2050, primarily in the Building Trades.

Beyond the proven demand for green-industry workers over the coming decades, roughly 2,700 green-industry workers retire each year, requiring replacement workers. Together, these trends indicate that the future workforce needs may exceed the capacity of Boston's current training pipelines. As the report suggests, expanding training opportunities, especially for the 45.5% of Bostonians without a Bachelor’s Degree, will be critical to ensuring Boston can meet the demands of a growing, evolving green economy. The report also provides recommendations for scaling and strengthening Boston’s green workforce ecosystem and preparing residents for high-quality, skilled employment in green jobs. 

“Having enough workers with the right skills to ensure that cities are climate-ready is a looming challenge, and Boston is leading the nation with this workforce action plan,” said Alicia Modestiono, Research Director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. “It involves both formal training programs for emerging green jobs arising from new technologies such as geothermal networks, plus on-the-job training to equip existing workers in the trades with green skills to install renewable energy systems and ensure buildings meet new emission reduction requirements. Given the urgency to build the necessary infrastructure, this workforce transition will be rapid, possibly creating a worker shortage, given the limited number of programs and apprenticeship slots currently available. By investing in the City’s green workforce ecosystem, Mayor Wu is ensuring that Boston residents are both protected from the effects of climate change and also equipped to thrive in the labor market for decades to come.”

“Community Labor United is grateful to Mayor Wu and City leaders for their commitment to a robust Climate Ready Workforce Action Plan that includes fostering high-quality jobs in the building trades and other sectors,” said Natalicia Tracy, Executive Director of Community Labor United. “In the face of so much uncertainty at the federal level, local action is essential to move climate policies forward while ensuring Bostonians from all backgrounds can access good, green jobs. Our research shows that registered trades union apprenticeships are already achieving the goal of preparing a diverse group of Bostonians to enter good careers in the green economy. The policy recommendations in this report, like expanding the use of Project Labor Agreements and increasing accessibility of childcare for apprentices and other trainees, chart a path for Boston to achieve our climate and job quality goals, now and into the future.” 

The release of the report was celebrated at an event at Boston City Hall. Following the celebration, the City hosted the third convening of the Boston Climate Jobs Alliance, a coalition of 30+ community-led groups, employers, colleges, unions, and long-standing workforce development partners that aims to address the threats of coastal flooding, sea level rise, storm surge, and excessive heat, while generating a new, sustainable, and equitable workforce. Funded by a $9.8 million Climate Ready Workforce Grant awarded to the City of Boston from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Alliance is aimed at training at least 645 people and placing 484 in the 1,200 jobs committed by 13 employers in family-sustaining, coastal, and climate resilience occupations by July 2028. The City of Boston is leading the way as a model employer. Just six months into the implementation phase, the Alliance has already trained over 100 workers. Learn more about the Boston Climate Jobs Alliance at boston.gov/climate-jobs.