The City of Boston has released its Climate Ready Workforce Action Plan, developed through a year-long research project led by Northeastern University's Dukakis Center. The initiative aims to build a skilled workforce to support the city's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Researchers highlight the challenges in defining green jobs and the need for targeted training programs.
Boston's Climate Action Plan outlines a transition away from fossil fuels, including decarbonizing buildings, electrifying transportation, upgrading the grid, and enhancing coastal resiliency to achieve citywide carbon neutrality by 2050. A key component is workforce development, often the final piece in such climate strategies.
The Climate Ready Workforce Action Plan culminates a collaborative effort involving the Dukakis Center at Northeastern University’s Policy School, the Burning Glass Institute, TSK Energy Solutions, and Community Labor United. It incorporates input from 51 advisors, ranging from government officials to community leaders.
Defining a 'green job' proved challenging. For example, car mechanics may shift from servicing gas vehicles to electric ones, which require less maintenance overall. Similarly, HVAC technicians could install either gas furnaces or efficient electric heat pumps. "These examples show some of the murkiness of figuring out what a green job is," said Joan Fitzgerald, a Northeastern public policy professor who led the research.
Using a vast dataset of hundreds of millions of job ads from the Burning Glass Institute, researchers identified essential skills for the green economy. "We look at job postings from across the globe, identify the skills in them, and track how those skills are changing," explained Stuart Andreason, the institute's executive director.
Many current roles, such as construction work under energy-efficient codes or electrician tasks for EV chargers, can evolve into green jobs. Dukakis Center Director Alicia Modestino analyzed workforce needs for the Climate Action Plan, projecting demand for new entrants and replacements amid retirements. "The transition from entirely carbon-based jobs to those that require green skills... will be rapid, possibly creating a shortage of workers," Modestino noted.
The plan emphasizes environmental justice, offering opportunities in infrastructure and community engagement for disadvantaged groups. It also addresses training gaps, like insufficient funding for trainee wages. Fitzgerald recommended city support for such programs to sustain career pipelines.
"Our work to fight climate change will create good-paying jobs and a more inclusive workforce in Boston," said Oliver Sellers-Garcia, the city's Environment Commissioner and Green New Deal Director. This blueprint connects climate goals to economic opportunities, serving as a model for other cities.
