CA: Fiscal impact of state climate law disputed

Sac Bee ^ | 10/19/09 | Jim Downing

[NormsRevenge]

A local academic has emerged as the leading source of dark forecasts in a recession-fueled debate over whether California's war on global warming will hurt or help its economy.

Sanjay Varshney, dean of the business school at California State University, Sacramento, predicts dire consequences if the state moves forward with plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

His figures – dismissed by some economists – have been cited by business groups and politicians calling on the state to delay carrying out AB 32, the state's landmark climate change law.

In a July paper paid for by the California Small Business Roundtable, an advocacy group, Varshney reported that trimming emissions would cost the average household $3,857 a year, kill more than 1.1 million jobs and cut the state's economic output by nearly 10 percent.

Costs for food, fuel, electricity and housing would all rise, he predicts, driving a 26 percent drop in discretionary spending, slashing tax revenues and squeezing small businesses.

Those figures, the result of Varshney's first venture into environmental policy analysis, have planted him at one of the poles in the climate change debate.

At the other pole are environmental and green-business groups that predict AB 32 will make California more innovative and efficient, driving economic growth and creating jobs.

[dirtboy]

At the other pole are environmental and green-business groups that predict AB 32 will make California more innovative and efficient, driving economic growth and creating jobs.

Check Spain's unemployment rate and get back to us.

[NormsRevenge]

from the comments at the bee to this piece

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Popular Comment
“For those that don’t know what pistach is talking about, one example is Spain that looking into it’s 10 year green push and what it found what NOT what the politicians claimed. http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46453 “Every “green job” created with government money in Spain over the last eight years came at the cost of 2.2 regular jobs, and only one in 10 of the newly created green jobs became a permanent job, says a new study released this month.” You can read the full report here: Study of the Effects on Employment of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources. http://www.juandemariana.org/pdf/090327-employment-public-aid-renewable.pdf Based on the actual study of these programs that have been implemented in other places, these programs loss jobs and damaged the economy, but hey lets ignore the actual FACTS and instead go with some idiot from Berkeley and politicians who claim otherwise.”

— pressto

[steelyourfaith]

 

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