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Bad Climate Change Bill Could Cost 4 Million U.S. Jobs |
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Industries supporting more than 4 million U.S. jobs could be at risk unless lawmakers include strong provisions in climate change legislation to keep energy-intensive, trade-sensitive manufacturers competitive.
A new report says the legislation should include a system of rebates and allowances to help U.S. companies make the transition to lower carbon emissions and a tariff system, or border adjustments, to penalize countries that fail to regulate greenhouse gases in the production of goods.
The report, “Climate Change Policy,” released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), says a well-designed climate policy can support the economic recovery and green investments can support millions of new jobs, starting with the creation of more than 1 million jobs in the next two years. Click here to read the report.
Robert Scott, author of the EPI study, warned in a telephone press conference today that the United States will face serious consequences if it develops climate change policies that apply only to domestic companies without regard for their effects on trade. He said companies that use large amounts of energy in production and are in pitched battles with cheap imports could respond by moving jobs overseas, causing what is euphemistically called “carbon leakage.” Industries that are particularly vulnerable include steel, pulp and paper, basic chemicals and glass products.
Worse yet, Scott said, increased production of these energy-intensive goods in developing countries with no climate change rules could likely increase net global greenhouse emissions.
The job loss would impact every state, Scott writes, with the biggest losses coming in California (404,000 lost jobs) and Texas (425,000).
During the press conference, United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard said the issue of global warming is everyone’s business:
It’s not just Pittsburgh warming or Cleveland warming…it’s global warming. It’s important to have a climate change bill that doesn’t cost us jobs and leak carbon.
Ten Democratic senators, led by Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) recently signed a letter to President Obama calling for measures in any climate change legislation to ensure that the U.S. domestic manufacturing base remains strong. Joining Brown in signing the letter were Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.), Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin (Mich.), Al Franken (Minn.), Bob Casey and Arlen Specter (Pa.), Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) and Russ Feingold (Wis.).
Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, summed it up this way:
The stakes are simply too great, and the potential damage to the economy and environment too large, if we fail to adequately address the trade-related implications of climate change.
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Thank you for the article. I do not want more jobs shipped to China. We must have a fair policy does not lead to Offshore Outsourcing.
A ‘climate change’ bill is worrisome in many ways. Not only is there going to be a loss of jobs but there is also going to be a dramatic increase in our electric bills. Obama has already stated that he is going to ‘bankrupt’ coal companies and cap & trade is a heck of a good start in that direction. Naturally the first course of action coal companies will take to offset their cost of cap & trade will be to raise the bill on consumers. My electric company just received a 43% increase (the largest ever granted them) and if cap & trade hits them it’ll probably go up that much or more again! Pricing like that could mean many Americans will be choosing between paying the electric bill or buying food. How sad that we could come to that in this country. And for those of you who may not know this, coal generates 52% of the electricity we use in this country. That’s a lot of people seeing their energy bills going sky high. And with the increased energy bills there go all the other prices consumers pay. A lot of people are already in big financial trouble in this country. If the cost of electricity begins to make it look more like a luxury than a necessity how many more of us are going to be in big trouble?
Sad part is, we seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. It seems it’s gong to have to either be cap & trade or the EPA is going to implement their own plan. And apparently, according to the UMW, that could be even worse!
What IS this country coming to? How much longer can we withstand ever rising prices and the loss of good paying jobs at the same time? My fear is that we’re on a downward spiral toward becoming a third world nation! Not only is the American ‘dream’ dying but, very possibly, so is the America that we all know and love!