California carbon cap bill good for economy too

onAug 18, 2006 @ 09:41 PDT

As California’s widely supported Global Warming Solutions Act, gets set to pass this summer, a new University of California study finds that the new Act could create as many as 17,000 new jobs.

Author of the report, David Roland-Holst, concludes:

“Our study demonstrates that meeting the 2020 [green-house gas] limits under debate in Sacramento can stimulate the state economy… Climate action can be profitable.”

The report also finds that the annual Gross State Product (GSP) could see a $60 billion increase as California aggressively moves on its proposed new carbon emissions cap program.

It is also refreshing to note that author directly reports that the funding for his research was due in part to the generosity of the non-profit Energy Foundation, a consortium pushing for renewable energy solutions. This kind of disclosure provides the context the public needs when reading such papers and judging the validity of the claims made.

Would be great if the small group of fringe scientists and “think” tank experts who still deny that global warming is a problem followed suit and stamped “paid by ExxonMobil” on their studies.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.