PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (April 22, 2020) – On the occasion of this Golden Anniversary of Earth Day, the Prairie View A&M University community commits to doing more to create a sustainable economic system to protect our environment. We must move to a zero-carbon world to arrest global warming.
Economists and business leaders interested in saving the planet have been discussing the concept of the “circular economy” for some time. Instead of focusing only on production and consumption, the idea is to also account for the pollution and environmental degradation from economic activities, which, for example, makes people sicker and adds to medical bills. Therefore, waste and pollution from production and consumption must be accounted for in our models – as individuals and collectively as a society, humans must learn to produce and consume less, and increase our investments in recycling and upcycling to protect the oceans, forests, and the air. As a society, we must reorient and reimagine our production and consumption habits to make them more green and sustainable.
On the political front, an unfortunate divide between liberals and conservatives has stalled progress on policies and actions on climate change. However, policies, which are good for the environment, can be good for business and jobs, too. These two goals are not inconsistent. For example, the case for reduced dependence on fossil fuel, such as coal, can be made both on environmental concerns, and on market considerations. The case for subsidies for new cleaner green technologies for renewable sources of energy – solar and wind – can be made both on the grounds of reducing carbon emissions, but also for creating new jobs and businesses, which would make the economy less dependent on the vagaries of foreign oil supplies.
Moving forward, we know that clean energy jobs are the jobs of the future, where, with abundant ingenuity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, America has a distinct advantage over China and other nations. An article this week in The Wall Street Journal said the price of oil (in the future’s market) fell below zero! However, we also know that despite the fact that the bottom has fallen from the oil market, the demand for solar and wind energy has remained robust.
Moreover, data and projections in the industry speaks for itself. The clean energy economy already is a major contributor to employment – nearly four million jobs in 2018. These jobs encompass a variety of well-paying jobs, including installing solar panels, auditing energy efficiency, developing electric vehicles, and managerial positions. The field is wide open for our budding entrepreneurs. The renewable energy industry alone employs 777,000 people, about the same as the entire telecommunications industry. Breaking it down, bioenergy, or energy generated from organic materials, is the largest employer, while the solar industry is second. In terms of growth, the fastest job growth has come from the solar and wind sectors, which grew at a sizzling 24.5-percent and 16-percent annually between 2016 and 2017.
Texas has become a leader in renewable energy industries. Despite the rising demand for energy, the state’s power grid has held well, largely because of the new power generated in the solar and wind sectors. These two sectors delivered nearly 2,097 megawatts of new power in 2018. In fact, renewable energy resources represent more than 95-percent of new power-generating capacity. Private investment funds are pouring in to help expand infrastructure to deliver cheap and abundant power. In Texas, the solar utility market grew by 32.7-percent in 2019, and wind by 9.7-percent. At this rate, the state will soon become second in the nation for solar generation.
These trends can be seen nationwide, with participation from old and new companies. According to one study, more than 60-percent of Fortune 100 companies are committed to cutting greenhouse gases and substantially increasing their use of green energies and technology to improve business models. For example, General Motors (GM) has pledged to move to 100-percent renewable energy in the coming years. The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, which includes Google, Facebook, Walmart, GM, Disney, and Salesforce, is targeting the deployment of 60,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2025.
Munir Quddus, Ph.D.
On the PVAMU campus, we understand these trends. As a community of scholars and learners, we commit to doing our part through teaching, research, and service to help the society get to a zero-carbon economy. In the College of Business, we plan to continue contributing by raising awareness, publishing high-quality research to influence fellow Americans and policymakers, and being entrepreneurial in creating new businesses to bring innovative green products to the market. We are working to develop new courses and programs in our curriculum, including courses to be taught in the University Core, which would educate and inform young people to prepare and contribute to a net-zero emissions economy.
As global citizens, we will continue working with people and nations across the world towards the critically important goal of protecting humanity, the economy, and the ecosystem that houses it all.
Munir Quddus teaches economics and serves as the dean of the College of Business at Prairie View A&M University.