For Immediate Release: Contact: Carol Eberly
March 17, 2008 202-349-5882 or
[email protected]
(Washington, DC) – – The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF) released a study last week on the economic impact of the America’s Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), legislation which is designed to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 63 percent by 2050. The study found that this legislation would significantly impede economic growth in the United States.
“This legislation, if passed into law, would cost the United States trillions of dollars in the coming decades and lead to the loss of millions of jobs,” said Carrie Lukas, vice president for policy and economics at the Independent Women’s Forum. “The average American family will see their income go down by thousands of dollars and their energy costs soar. Simply put this policy would be bad news for American families.”
The numbers in the analysis are staggering. Gross Domestic Product would be reduced by $151 billion to $210 billion by 2020 and between $631 billion to $669 billion per year in 2030. Americans would lose 1.2 million to 1.8 million jobs in 2020 and 3 million to 4 million jobs in 2030. Household income would be reduced by $739 to $2,927 per year in 2020 and $4,022 to $6,752 per year in 2030. Electricity prices would increase by 28% to 33% by 2020 and 101% to 129% by 2030, and gasoline price would increase 20% to 69% by 2020 and 77% to 145% by 2030.
“The saddest aspect of this legislation is that, if the global warming theory and current predictions are correct, than this won’t make any meaningful difference in future temperature increases. The economic slowdown will leave us with fewer resources to invest in improving the environment or combating other challenges that may lie ahead,” said Lukas. “Policymakers should not lose site of the unintended consequences of policies such as this and focus on ways to improve our environment without sacrificing our economy.”
To view the comprehensive national and 50-state reports, please visit www.nam.org/climatechangereport or www.accf.org.
The Independent Women’s Forum is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and educational institution. Founded in 1992, IWF focuses on issues of concern to women, men, and families. Our mission is to rebuild civil society by advancing economic liberty, personal responsibility, and political freedom. IWF builds support for a greater respect for limited government, equality under the law, property rights, free markets, strong families, and a powerful and effective national defense and foreign policy. IWF is home to some of the nation’s most influential scholars-women who are committed to promoting and defending economic opportunity and political freedom.
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For additional information, or to schedule an interview with Carrie Lukas, please contact Carol Eberly at 202-349-5882 or [email protected].