Appalachia Poised to Be Part of Shift to Clean Energy
July 22, 2021
For over 150 years, the Appalachian region has provided the cheap energy that has powered the nation to become an industrial giant and build a middle class. At the same time, the enormous wealth pulled from the hills of Appalachia largely enriched other parts of the country while leaving environmental degradation and persistent poverty in its wake. As federal policymakers design policies to transition and invest in a clean energy economy, it is imperative that Appalachia can rebuild and grow a 21
st Century sustainable economy that builds shared prosperity.
The people of Appalachia need to be at the table, and not on the menu when it comes to a clean energy transformation. As three recent studies have shown, meeting climate change goals and creating more jobs in Appalachia at the same time is doable. For example, a study by economist Robert Pollin (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) and others found that West Virginia could cut its carbon emissions in half over the next ten years while creating 41,100 jobs by investing less than 2% of the state’s GDP each year. According to the Energy Information Administration, West Virginia, my home state, has the second most carbon-intensive economy of any state in the country. If West Virginia can do it, we can all do it.