Green Jobs
New Mexico Green Jobs Guidebook now available
A new green jobs guidebook for New Mexico students and job seekers is now available. You can download a copy of the guidebook here. This guidebook was developed by Governor Richardson’s Green Jobs Cabinet to provide an accessible overview to green jobs in New Mexico. This guidebook will be updated periodically to include new information.
Additional detailed information on the individual green jobs listed in the guidebook can be downloaded here.
What is a Green Job?
Green jobs are family-supporting, career-track jobs that directly contribute to preserving or enhancing environmental quality.
In New Mexico, this means jobs in areas as diverse as:
- renewable energy
- smart/green electricity grids
- energy efficiency and green building
- biofuels
- clean technology manufacturing
- recycling
- low-carbon transportation
- air and water quality
- sustainable agriculture
It is important to include all jobs in these industries, from the specialized scientists and technicians through human resources and accounting professionals. It also includes people working on energy efficiency and other environmental goals in all industries.
GREEN GROWTH BY THE NUMBERS
In the years between 1998 and 2007:
- Green jobs grew by 50% overall in New Mexico, which is 25 times the rate of overall job growth.
- New Mexico’s Clean Energy sector grew by 118%
- Energy Efficiency grew by 184%
- Environmentally Friendly Production grew by 99%
- Conservation and Pollution Mitigation grew by 35% (Data source: Pew Trusts)
The Potential of Green Jobs in New Mexico
- The American Solar Energy Society estimates that the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries could create 37 million new jobs in the US by 2030. New Mexico’s share of that would be 236,800 jobs.¹
- The Solar Energy Industry Association anticipates 19,000 new jobs created in New Mexico by 2016 in the solar industry alone.² This is the highest per capita gain in the country.
- The Center for American Progress calculates that New Mexico’s share of a $100B “Green Recovery” federal stimulus package would create 13,717 jobs.³
- Renewable energy generates 40% more jobs per unit of energy than coal power.4 There are now more wind energy jobs in the United States than coal mining jobs.5
- Green jobs are generally well paid, place-based and difficult to lose to foreign competition