ILRF Panel on Green Jobs in China

On May 4, 2010, ILRF friends and allies gathered for an informal panel at Zorba's Cafe addressing the question, "Can There be Green Jobs in China?"

At a time when unions, environmentalists and the White House are all touting "green jobs" as a sustainable path out of the global financial crisis, China is making impressive investments in high speed trains and clean energy technology.  Yet China's coal industry, the source of 70 percent of the country's energy consumption, continues to pollute the environment and endanger workers' lives.  

Discussants Thea Lee, Policy Director of the AFL-CIO; Katie Quan, Associate Chair of the UC Berkeley Labor Center; and Jennifer Turner, Director of the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center led an audience discussion of Beijing's choices, what the United States can learn from China's successes and challenges, and whether "green jobs" must be a zero sum game between American and Chinese workers.  ILRF Executive Director Bama Athreya moderated.