### Testimony of Dean Hubbard Director, Sierra Club Labor Program EPA Public Hearing on the Clean Power Plan

Tuesday, July 29, 2014 EPA Headquarters, William Jefferson Clinton East Building, 1201 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC Good afternoon. My name is Dean Hubbard, and I'm the Director of the Sierra Club Labor Program. I've spent nearly three decades in the labor movement as a union organizer, lawyer and educator. During these hearings, some people are arguing for protecting the environment, while some people are arguing for good jobs. These two things are not in conflict—the Clean Power Plan lets us support both. From a union perspective, the Clean Power Plan presents a tremendous organizing opportunity to create good, family-sustaining jobs in every state of the nation. That's because the EPA has structured the plan to give states enough time to comply in a way best suited for their local economies, meaning they can create their own plans to protect existing jobs 

### and spur the creation of new ones, all while reducing pollution. In fact, states have unti12015 to put a plan in place, until between 2020 and 2029 to meet reduction goals, and until 2030 to meet final targets, meaning they have plenty of time to make adjustments to accommodate local needs. We should use the next two years to come together, talk through our differences, and find common ground to get this done in the best way possible. That's because the Clean Power Plan is not about "jobs vs. the environment"-- It gives us a chance to work together to create good jobs in healthy communities on a living planet, as we protect workers and communities affected by America's transition to clean energy. Under the Plan, the tools states can use include increasing renewable energy sources, and increasing energy efficiency. Renewable energy and energy efficiency investments create far more jobs per dollar spent than fossil fuels -- including natural gas. Specifically, a clean-energy investment agenda generates 

### more than 3 times the number of 

### jobs in the United States as does spending the same amount of money in the fossil fuel sectors, including the natural gas sector. I Even better, median salaries for clean jobs are nearly $8,000 higher than wages across the broader economy. 2 And, the clean energy sector is growing at a rate nearly double the growth rate of the overall economy. 3 If done properly, retooling our economy for clean energy –which the Clean Power Plan will help do -- will lead to a massive expansion of good jobs We know the market alone will not protect workers or create a fair and just clean energy economy. That is why the Sierra Club and our partners support a strong 

### and just Clean PowerPlan. That means we are asking the EPA and all relevant federal and state agencies to work

with us to ensure that Workers and communities affected by the phasing out of fossil fuels are treated fairly and justly; The jobs the Plan creates are family-sustaining union jobs; Disadvantaged communities receive equitable access to clean energy-related economic opportunities; and Clean energy is affordable. Most of all, the labor and environmental movements need to continue working together, and refuse to be divided by their common opponents. Beyond some unions that have legitimate concerns about their members, the attacks on the Clean Power Plan are coming from the same anti-union corporate polluters that have sought to destroy the labor movement and fought any attempt to address global climate disruption for decades. In the last few years, climate disruption contributed to damaging floods, widespread wildfires, record drought, and Superstorm Sandy, which together cost Americans hundreds of lives, thousands of jobs, and hundreds of billions of dollars. We can't afford to wait any longer to act. For the well-being of America's workers, for the nation's economy, and for the health of our planet, now is the time for the labor and environmental movements to come together for a Plan that dramatically reduces pollution from America's power plants, increases good jobs, and reduces the threat of climate disruption.

' Robert Pollin, James Heintz, and Heidi Garrett-Peltier, "Clean Energy Investments for the U.S. Economy," discussion paper for 3/22/10 Surdna Foundation Conference, Table 2, "Total Employment Creation through Alternative Energy Sources: Direct, Indirect, and Induced Effects for $1 Million in Spending." Available online at http://www.peri.uniass.edu/flleadiiiin/pdf/coiiference papers/Surdna/Pol l in-Heintz-GarrettPeltier paper for Surdna Conf---3-16-IO.pdff ,

Z Adam James, Fact Sheet: 6 Things You Should Know About the Value of Renewable Energy, Climate Progress (2012). Available online at http://tliinkpro: ;ress.orgJclimate/2012/03/28/453122/fact-slieet-6-things-you-shouldkn ow-about-the-val ue-of-renewab le-enerw/

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3 Muro, Rothwell and Saha, Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment, Brookings Institution (2011). Available online at http://www.brookings.edtuJresearch/reports/2011/07/13-cleaneconomv
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