Green Economy Action Plan

The Green Economy Action Plan outlines a roadmap to make New York City a leader in ‘Green-Collar’ Jobs.

The Action Plan, developed by NYC Talent and the NYC Economic Development Corporation, defines ways to grow the city’s green economy — the jobs and activities that help us reduce and protect against climate change — and train and position New Yorkers, particularly those from environmentally-disadvantaged communities, to benefit from the nearly 400,000 projected green economy jobs by 2040.

The comprehensive industry and workforce action plan includes:

• New York City’s vision for the green economy that deeply integrates economic and talent development for the first time
• A comprehensive definition of the green economy for the City of New York
• The first-ever sizing and forecasting of the green economy by sectors and jobs for today, 2030, and 2040
• Analysis of the green economy and opportunities for equitable growth
• Actions and commitments from the City to drive robust and equitable growth and talent development
• A call to action for private, nonprofit, and government entities, and New Yorkers to get involved

This Action Plan identifies a set of strategies and commitments to reduce carbon emissions, increase resiliency to extreme climate events, and invests in the city’s most valuable asset: our talent.

To learn more about career growth and mobility pathways through these focus occupations, please explore our detailed resource for jobseekers and workforce providers by clicking here.

We have embedded the following talent development tools across the Action Plan’s commitments:

→ Green Training Facilities: A goal of a green economy training facility in every borough, starting with pilot programming focused on building & construction at Governors Island

→ Community Hiring & Place-Based Strategies: Collaborating with place-based partners to build neighborhood training and referral networks that integrate City investments, community-based organizations, and existing workforce development infrastructure

→ Youth Pathways: Leveraging $600 million in coordinated investments in NYC Public Schools, City University of New York, and the Department of Youth & Community Development to position young people for success in the green economy through career-connected learning, trainings, internships, and  apprenticeships

→ Skills-Based Training and Apprenticeship: Support pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship trainings to connect over 12,000 New Yorkers to green economy occupations by 2040

→ Industry Partnership: Relaunch the Construction & Climate Resiliency industry partnership to embed industry perspectives in all workforce development efforts

The Green Economy Action Plan is for every New Yorker and community. Whether you’re a new climate startup, an existing business thinking about going green, an educator looking to connect your students to a new career, or a New Yorker looking for a well-paying job – if you call NYC home, or want to, you can play a role in shaping a thriving green economy.