rely on the industries that  mine, make, and transport

the things we use today.

That means that everywhere in the world,

energy transitions will be disruptive.

Those disruptions will  ultimately make us successful.

But they also mean finding new ways

to manufacture products,

generate electricity,

move people and cargo from place to place,

produce food,

and heat and cool our buildings.

And these new ways may not use the same workforce

or be located in the same place as the old ways.

Unfortunately, this conversation  sometimes happens as an afterthought—

when it’s already too late to undo the damage—

or without including the communities  that are affected by the changes.

We can do it differently.

In the race to develop new technologies

to replace the ones that emit greenhouse gases,

we have to consider the families

that depend on the old  technologies for a paycheck.

If we’re thoughtful about it,

we can guarantee that the  technological transformation

we need to address climate change

actually creates good, safe jobs

and a more equitable, prosperous economy.

We need to plan for these transitions—

either to the new technologies

or to entirely new economic opportunities—

at the same time as we’re inventing the new tools

to complete the overall energy transition.

We need to work with communities

to design transitions that will benefit everyone,

including coal miners in West Virginia,

factory workers in Ohio and North Carolina,

farmers across the American Heartland,

long-haul truckers in China,

and railroad workers who move coal across India.

No matter where we live or where we come from,

we all want to build stronger communities.

The only way to do that is to work together.