The Just Transition Starts with Good Jobs: Lessons from a Transatlantic Roundtable

At New York Climate Week 2026, The Clean Economy Bridge hosted the roundtable "Building the Green Workforce – Transatlantic Approaches to Skills and Just Transition". The discussion examined how governments, employers, trade unions, educational institutions and international partners across Germany and the U.S. can prepare workers for the transition to a clean economy. 

Key themes of the discussion

Workforce planning and state capacity

Participants identified a need for more systematic workforce planning. This includes identifying future skills needs, estimating the number and location of jobs, assessing regional workforce gaps and ensuring that state governments have the capacity to act. The discussion suggested that training should follow credible assessments of labor demand so that programs do not prepare workers for jobs that fail to materialize.

Education, apprenticeships and curriculum sharing

Community colleges, apprenticeship programs, electrical academies and worker training networks emerged as important delivery mechanisms. Participants saw value in reviewing and sharing curricula between the United States and Germany, particularly in relation to apprenticeships, community colleges and Career and Technical Educational institutions.

Engagement with trade unions

The discussion underlined the need to strengthen partnerships with labour unions in workforce planning and transition design. In the US, unions run an essential training infrastructure preparing workers for high-quality jobs in a variety of clean energy fields, including through apprenticeship programs. Unions also provide knowledge about occupational requirements, worker concerns and recruitment challenges. The German experience also suggests that stronger dialogue with unions may improve the design and credibility of transition plans.

Public investment and market signals

Participants linked workforce development to the availability and timing of project finance. Public investment can create demand for workers, establish labor standards, support domestic supply chains, and signal that projects will proceed. Investment certainty was repeatedly identified as a condition for employers to recruit and for training institutions to expand provision.

Domestic production and international interdependence

The discussion recognized a tension between maintaining domestic production and accepting that some parts of value chains will move internationally. Participants considered the risks of excessive dependence on other countries, while also acknowledging the importance of international trade and cooperation. Public procurement, loans and support for domestic companies were discussed as potential tools for sustaining production and good jobs.

Worker identity and social acceptance

The transition was discussed not only as an economic process but also as a social and cultural change. Workers may lose a sense of identity when they leave established industries. Participants therefore stressed the importance of recognizing local histories, communicating the benefits of new sectors and demonstrating that the transition can provide stable and well-paid employment.

Communication and political durability

Participants noted that election cycles can make long-term planning difficult. Public acceptance may be stronger when policies are communicated as supporting economic development, regional prosperity, and good jobs, rather than as climate measures alone. Clear public communication, credible project pipelines, and visible benefits for communities were identified as important for political durability.

The Clean Economy Bridge is an initiative funded by the German Federal Government which promotes and facilitates transatlantic cooperation between Germany, Canada and the United States on energy and climate policy. The program office is run by adelphi global.