WASHINGTON, April 4, 2006 /PRNewswire

 

Higher energy costs, reduced GDP and significant job loss are the serious economic byproduct of any emissions trading system (ETS), the chief economist for the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF) told a special climate conference of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today.

Dr. Margo Thorning provided economic research and detailed evidence of the negative consequences resulting from the current ETS in the European Union (EU). She stressed that any similar U.S. plan to reduce greenhouse gases will also be a significant economic drain -- violating the Sense of the Senate Resolution, which states that any effort should "not significantly harm the U.S. economy" and should "engage comparable action by other nations that are major trading partners and key contributors to global emissions."

"If the economic forecasts for emissions trading in the U.S. are not sobering enough, policymakers should pay attention to the real-life struggles presently facing the European Union," Thorning said.

"Energy use and economic growth go hand in hand," Thorning concluded. "The U.S. should reject mandatory programs, look to free market policies based on technology and reducing energy intensity, and work with developing countries on cleaner development -- promoting improvements in their living standards while slowing their very rapid growth in greenhouse gas emissions."

View Today's Testimony by American Council for Capital Formation Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Dr. Margo Thorning at http://www.accf.org.

The American Council for Capital Formation (http://www.accf.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the advocacy of tax and environmental policies that encourage saving and investment. The ACCF was founded in 1973 and is supported by the voluntary contributions of corporations, associations, foundations, and individuals.

SOURCE American Council for Capital Formation

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