In the midst of California’s fiscal crisis a report has been released by a state board that says a host of new climate regulatory measures will not cost the state a dime. Not only will these measures not hurt California the board says, but they will even end up increasing job numbers and promoting growth. Unsurprisingly, many organizations and people found reasons to be critical of the report.
The LA Times reports:
Under the law, the state’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere, would drop 15% by 2020.
New regulations would boost solar, wind and other renewable power, cut the carbon intensity of gasoline, promote electric cars, discourage sprawl and wedge energy-saving measures into home-building, manufacturing and other sectors of the economy.
…
The new report, which takes account of the current economic downturn, concludes that California’s gross state product will grow to $2.5 trillion over the next decade, only 0.2% less than it would without the climate law. Jobs will grow to 18.4 million — 0.1% more than without the law, the report concluded.
Industry groups had a very different take on the regulations:
A group that includes the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Manufacturers & Technology Assn. and various companies issued a report ahead of Wednesday’s release saying that implementing the climate law could cost the state 485,000 jobs by 2020, a sharp contrast to the air board’s finding that the law would yield a net increase of 10,000 jobs.
There currently are about 16 million civilian jobs in California, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The climate plan “represents perhaps the most far-reaching regulatory policy initiative ever attempted in our state’s history, imposing new costs on virtually every product and service,” the AB 32 Implementation Group said. “Yet the agency’s economic analysis finds that it won’t cost consumers a dime. We are skeptical about the rosy prediction.”
Full story: Climate law won’t hurt California economy, report says – latimes.com