Tough Climate-Change Bill Touted As Good for
State
Oct 27 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
The more a congressional climate-change bill cracks down on
greenhouse-gas emissions, the better the long-term prospects for Ohio's
economy, according to a report yesterday by renewable-energy business
advocates.
Ohio would gain up to 61,000 jobs by 2020 and see its economy grow by
$3.7 billion if a stringent climate-change bill becomes law, says the
report released by the Ohio Business Council for a Clean Economy.
There would be some short-term increases to Ohio's energy costs,
acknowledged Eric Zimmer of Tipping Point Renewable Energy, one of the
businesses that released the study and a member of the clean economy
council.
But a strict carbon cap would soon lead to energy-efficiency savings and
alternative energy innovation, and by 2020 the average household income
would increase by $992, in 2008 dollars, the study says.
A less-strict piece of legislation still could yield about half those
numbers, the study says.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is one of a group of Midwest lawmakers
trying to figure out how to craft a climate-change bill that would bring
more jobs to states like Ohio than it would lose.
The report was timed for release the day before Senate climate-change
legislation hearings begin, although there is doubt on Capitol Hill
whether a final House-Senate bill will be approved this year.
jriskind@dispatch.com
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