University of California, Berkeley :: 1.9 Million New Jobs Could Be Created by Climate & Energy Bill Before the Senate

BERKELEY, Calif., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- A new analysis by economists at University of California, Berkeley finds that the pollution reduction and energy efficiency measures contained in the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) - already passed by the U.S. House of Representatives -- could create between 918,000 and 1.9 million new jobs, increase annual household income by $487-1,175 per year and boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $39 - $111 billion by 2020.

The new comprehensive national economic assessment of ACES was conducted in collaboration with University of Illinois and Yale University, using EAGLE, a new state-of-the-art forecasting model.

    Table 1: U.S. Macroeconomic Impacts by 2020
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
                       2010       2020       2020         Net       Percent
                     Baseline   Baseline     With      Increase     Change
                               Projection    ACES       Due to      Due to
                                                        ACES        ACES

    Employment
     (Thousands)     189,404     213,062    213,980-   918-1,897    0.4-0.9
                                            214,959
    GDP  (2008$
     Billions)        12,338      15,852     15,891-      39-111    0.2-0.7
                                             15,963

EAGLE estimates of ACES impacts include the following:

Between 2010 and 2020, national employment would see a net increase of 918,000 (moderate-efficiency case) to 1.9 million (high-efficiency case) jobs under ACES--on top of baseline growth of 24 million jobs over the same timeframe.
By 2020, ACES would boost average real household income by $487 to $1,175 per year by 2020 (2008 dollars).
ACES would result in U.S. real Gross Domestic Product that is $39 billion-$111 billion higher in 2020 than without legislation. That is a 0.2% to 0.7% increase on top of baseline growth of 28% between 2010 and 2020.

Results from the EAGLE modeling are consistent with forecasts by U.S. government agencies - such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Congressional Budget Office, and the Department of Energy - that show substantial economic benefits from the more pollution reduction, renewable energy deployment, and energy efficiency measures in this comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

A summary of the new report can be found at: http://are.berkeley.edu/~dwrh/CERES_Web/Docs/Final%20EAGLE%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

The lead author of the report, David Roland-Holst, is a professor in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department at UC Berkeley. He can be contacted at dwrh@berkeley.edu or 510-643-6362.

SOURCE University of California, Berkeley