Inslee Campaign Press Release - Jay Inslee Releases 'Evergreen Economy Plan' - A Jobs Plan for a 21st Century Clean Energy Economy

Comprehensive Jobs Plan Includes 28 Policy Initiatives to Build an Economy Run on Clean Energy, While Strengthening Workers' Rights and Growing the Middle Class

Inslee Plan Would Create 8 Million Jobs, Catalyze $9 Trillion in Investment

Washington, D.C. – Today, Governor Jay Inslee announced his "Evergreen Economy Plan," a comprehensive, forward-looking agenda to build an 21st century economy run on clean energy.

Inslee's plan is a comprehensive vision to build a clean energy economy that will create 8 million good jobs over 10 years.

The Evergreen Economy Plan lays out a 28-point action plan of policy initiatives to create jobs, strengthen workers' rights, repower the economy, rebuild infrastructure, and reinvest in innovation. The plan will catalyze $9 trillion in total investment over the next decade, with $3 trillion in federal spending leveraging $6 trillion. The Evergreen Economy Plan's total federal investment in clean energy will be more than 30 times larger than the Recovery Act's clean energy investment.

"I believe America can defeat climate change and build a strong, clean energy economy for working families," said Inslee. "This plan is built on our successes in Washington state, where we have passed strong clean energy laws and we have the fastest-growing economy in the nation. We need to rebuild the middle class with strong union jobs, while making the investments needed to power America's clean energy transformation. The Evergreen Economy Plan provides a detailed roadmap to a clean energy economy that grows jobs in every community."

The Evergreen Economy Plan is Inslee's second major policy announcement. It builds on his "100% Clean Energy for America" plan, providing concrete strategies and proposals for reaching 100% clean energy for the electrical grid, cars, and buildings.

Inspired by Inslee's success promoting clean energy in Washington state, the plan's policy initiatives make historic investments in clean energy research and deployment, create good jobs in 21st century manufacturing, build green transportation infrastructure, support modern job-training programs, raise wages, and protect workers' rights and families.

READ: Governor Jay Inslee's Evergreen Economy Plan

The Evergreen Economy Plan focuses on 5 key strategies for economic growth. Inslee's plan will:

• Ignite America's Clean Energy Economy through programs like a ReBuild America Initiative to upgrade millions of buildings; a $90 billion Green Bank for clean energy deployment; a Next Generation Rural Electrification program; and grants in lieu of tax incentives for clean energy installation.

• Build Sustainable & Climate-Smart Infrastructure by making the largest investment in American infrastructure in generations. The plan calls for doubling investment in public transit; dramatically expanding electric car-charging infrastructure; and launching a Clean Water for All Initiative to close the $82 billion annual funding gap in critical drinking water, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure.

• Lead the World in Clean Manufacturing by partnering the federal government with industry to make major investments in domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries; establish a federal "Buy Clean" program to help close the carbon loophole and support domestic workers and industries; introduce a new Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit; create an Export-Import Bank to increase American clean energy solution exports.

• Invest in Innovation & Science through increasing energy and climate solutions research funding to $35 billion, more than 5 times the current funding. The plan also promotes innovation in the agricultural sector through a new ARPA-Ag effort and a Next Generation Rural Clean Energy Extension Service.

• Ensure Good Jobs with Family Supporting Wages & Benefits by putting workers at the heart of the plan. The plan will reunionize and empower workers in every industry through enacting a "G.I. Bill" for impacted fossil fuel workers and communities; repealing the Taft-Hartley Act provisions that allow so-called "Right-to-Work" laws; redoubling commitment to national apprenticeship programs; and creating and enforcing protections for gender pay equity.

Throughout the Evergreen Economy Plan—and through the entirety of the Climate Mission agenda—is the urgent and necessary focus on supporting frontline, low-income, and Indigenous communities, and communities of color. The plan's assertive agenda of reinvestment in these communities is guided by strong local input, ensuring that America's new 100% clean energy economy is inclusive, built on a foundation of economic, environmental, racial and social justice.

The Evergreen Economy Plan represents the second plank in Inslee's Climate Mission agenda. Over the coming weeks, Inslee will announce additional major climate policies to advance environmental justice; support rural communities and sustainable, thriving American agriculture; ensure resilient communities and disaster recovery; end all manner of fossil fuel giveaways; and protect public lands.

WHAT CLIMATE AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE LEADERS SAY ABOUT JAY INSLEE'S EVERGREEN ECONOMY PLAN

"The Inslee Evergreen Economy Plan is just what we need. It is not only vital for our environment, but it is a recipe for more affordable housing and vibrant communities, good-paying jobs, corporate and municipal accountability, and global leadership for the United States."
– Professor Daniel Kammen, University of California, Berkeley, Contributing Lead Author for the IPCC, and former Science Envoy, United States Department of State

"This bold plan to rebuild the middle-class builds off of Governor Inslee's strong pro-worker record in Washington State. From working to lift caregivers out of poverty, to supporting an increase in the minimum wage and paid sick leave and paid family leave, Jay Inslee has been a reliable and effective champion for working families."
- Sterling Harders, SEIU 775 President

"Governor Inslee's Evergreen Economy Plan to create millions of jobs in a 21st-century clean energy economy sets the standard among 2020 presidential candidates. That's because it's based on what we know best here in Washington state: when you invest in workers with high wages and strong benefits, you grow the economy and create prosperity for everyone. Washington state has had the fastest-growing economy in America and been named the best state in America precisely because we've raised the minimum wage, passed paid sick lead and Paid Family and Medical Leave, and insisted on strong protections for workers – not despite those things. The Washington state model is the model for an American economy that is inclusive, equitable, and powered by a strong middle class. This is how Democrats will defeat Donald Trump and Republican trickle-down economics in 2020."
– Nick Hanauer, Founder, Civic Ventures

"This innovative, bold new idea for providing emissions-reducing financing is another sign that Jay Inslee knows not only that we must win the war against climate change, but also knows how to do it."
– Reed Hundt, Co-Founder and CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital, former FCC Chairman

"The breadth and scale of Governor Inslee's Evergreen Economy Plan is impressive. It would leverage American investments, workers and ingenuity to address what economists and scientists have outlined as necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement."
– Ivan Frishberg, sustainable finance professional and former Climate Campaign Manager, Organizing For Action

"Governor Inslee's Evergreen Economy Plan and his 100% Clean Energy for America Plan are a roadmap to a clean, resilient, and prosperous America. These plans are visionary, at scale to meet the climate challenge head-on, and detail the good-paying jobs Americans could undertake to realize the promise of clean energy. The Evergreen Economy Plan is simultaneously a swing-for-the-fences vision for America's stronger tomorrow, and a practical set of tangible steps we can take today."
– Sonia Aggarwal, Vice President, Energy Innovation

"Young people, activists and science are all challenging our leaders to rise to meet the defining issue of our time: climate change. Governor Inslee is doing us all a service by showing how we can meet that challenge--and transform it into an opportunity. We can act on climate, create millions of good green jobs and fulfill the promise of a free and just democracy--and Inslee has the plans to get us there."
– Julian Brave NoiseCat, Director of Green New Deal Strategy, Data for Progress

"Governor Inslee has a roadmap of tried and true solutions at the local, state and national level to get serious in addressing climate change. His aggressive proposals will get us where we need to be while growing our economy, creating good jobs in hometowns nationwide. It does all of this while challenging the trend of increasing corporate power and expanding the rights of everyday workers."
– Katie Rock, Policy Associate, Polk County Iowa Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner

"New Columbia Solar is proud to stand with other environmental groups and sustainable energy companies in supporting the ideas in Governor Jay Inslee's innovative initiative to transition economic empowerment through sustainable energy resources and improve the nation's infrastructure. As one of the largest solar companies in the District of Columbia, we have been involved in shaping policies on a local level to help ensure that the city builds reliance on clean power resources and provides greater access to energy resources for the underserved. Most recently, we became partners in the city's Solar for All Program and members of the coalition that helped drive the DC Council's passage of the Clean Energy DC Act, one of the most progressive energy policies in the country.

"Further, as a company with a diverse group of employees, we stand in support of the mission to pass policy measures that protect the environment and ensure the expansion of renewable business opportunities for all Americans."
– Michael Healy, CEO, New Columbia Solar, Washington, D.C.

"The Inslee plan marshals the best of our public sector and leverages the innovation and drive of private business to do something that is both deeply ambitious and eminently achievable--swiftly transitioning our economy to clean energy over the course of the next decade. This is exactly the kind of comprehensive plan that we need. Best of all, it is grounded in successes here in Washington that prove that not only can we do this, but we'll be better off for taking on the challenge."
– Vlad Gutman-Britten, Washington Director, Climate Solutions