The Industrial and Labor Relations School launched their Climate Jobs Institute on Jan. 25. The Institute will help New York state transition to a stronger clean energy economy by addressing the climate crisis and creating more jobs through continued cutting-edge research.

“We’re going to erode public support for this climate work if we’re not creating high-quality jobs and careers that are actually family and community sustaining,” says Lara Skinner, director of the Climate Jobs Institute.

“The majority of [wind-related] jobs are going to be in the manufacturing supply chain,” says Lara Skinner, so the country needs to prioritize the development of domestic renewable supply chains.

"People have to see how building a new clean energy economy improves their lives, expands their access to jobs, increases their pay and benefits, protects and supports existing good jobs, lowers energy bills, expands prosperity and makes our communities healthier,” said Skinner at the Climate Jobs Summit.

A recent study by Cornell's Labor Leading on Climate recommends converting 5 percent of street parking spaces into 150,000 sheltered bike parking spaces by 2025.

Anita Raman, a climate researcher at ILR writes about her work to support biking for climate resilience in the city.

Melanie La Rosa discusses the relevance of the Climate for Change: A Complete Climate Jobs Roadmap for New York City report as an opportunity "to a climate labor force [that] could spur thousands of new jobs,” in her recent OpEd.

Cornell's Labor Leading on Climate released, “Climate for Change: A Climate Jobs Roadmap for New York City” in partnership with Climate Jobs New York which urges the city to adopt a plan for carbon free and healthy schools

Anita Raman, research and policy development associate with Cornell’s Labor Leading on Climate Initiative details how New York City can ensure future net zero emissions, create millions of community-sustaining jobs, and reduce inequality.

Cornell's Labor Leading on Climate released “Building a Just Transition for a Resilient Future: A Climate Jobs Program for Rhode Island” in partnership with Climate Jobs Rhode Island which outlines an approach to reduce carbon emissions while also creating good union jobs.

“We are really thinking about how do we take on climate change at scale and the pace that science demands,” said Lara Skinner, Director of Cornell's Labor Leading on Climate program.

Skinner, Director of Cornell’s Labor Leading on Climate Initiative visits CO-Søfart/Metal Maritime and Dansk Metal in Denmark to discuss American interest in the green transition and offshore wind.

An initiative of the ILR Worker Institute at Cornell, in partnership with Climate Jobs National Resource Center, “Labor Leading on Climate,” proves that when organized labor leads on an issue like climate change, the outcome is a thriving economy.

Skinner, director of Cornell's Labor Leading on Climate, highlighted the Carbon Free Healthy Schools recommendation — which suggests transitioning all K-12 public schools to net-zero emissions by 2030 using solar power — as one of the most impactful elements of the report.

Labor unions in Maine say they have a lot of ideas on how the state can combat climate change and create clean energy jobs. The unions partnered with Cornell University's Labor Leading on Climate to study climate change and have set 11 goals for creating clean-energy jobs in Maine.

Cornell's Labor Leading on Climate releases report in conjunction with the Climate Jobs New York (CJNY) outlining recommendations to Mayor Eric Adams’ administration as well as examining the impact of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic on NYC workers and schools.

Climate Jobs Rhode Island and Cornell University recently released a report outlining a climate jobs action plan to put Rhode Island on the path to meeting the state’s climate targets and building an equitable renewable energy economy.

A report by Cornell University researchers details crises involving climate change, the pandemic, and inequality, recommends major public projects involving wind energy, schools, and electrical grid

The Labor Leading on Climate team releases a report outlining a comprehensive climate jobs action plan to put Rhode Island on the path to building an equitable clean energy economy.

Skinner, Labor Leading on Climate Director, says “there's not going to be a just transition because the pay and health and retirement benefits are not there.”

In Texas and West Virginia, unions are having tough conversations about the future of fossil fuels. Lara Skinner explains that the way forward includes finding new ways to support workers transitioning from oil and coal to cleaner jobs.

At the Texas AFL-CIO’s annual convention on July 27th, 121 unions voted in favor of a resolution for a green jobs plan. The proposal was written by the Texas Climate Jobs Project, a project of the state labor federation and Cornell University’s Worker Institute in consultation with 27 unions statewide.

Skinner, Labor Leading on Climate Director, says “there’s been a real focus on the carbon impact of proposals and not enough emphasis on what type of jobs are these activities going to create, what are the quality of these jobs, are they actually going to help reverse inequality.”

The UMWA local in Alabama has been on a five-month strike against Warrior Met Coal. Zach Cunningham, from the Worker Institute’s Labor Leading on Climate, proposes focusing on making the transition to renewable-energy sources one that provides good-paying jobs, rather than a narrative of “good jobs versus the environment.”

Lara Skinner, Director of Cornell’s Labor Leading on Climate Initiative, provided insight into the number of jobs that could be created in various aspects of growing the renewable energy and climate tech industries in Texas.