California: Greenhouse Gas Law Costs Jobs
In a 10-page letter dated March 4, a state Legislative Analyst asserts that California’s landmark AB 32 greenhouse gas law will cause job losses in the near term. The long term affects are unclear, according to the Analyst, who questions the modeling used by the state Air Resources Board in its assessment of the law’s long-term impact.
The analyst wrote:
It seems most likely to us tha the implementation of AB 32 … will result in the near term in California job losses.
In the longer term, the employment effects in our view are unknown and will depend on a number of yet-to-be determined factors. These include future energy prices, technological developments in the energy area, normal adoption by households and businesses of increasingly efficient energy technologies even without AB 32 in place, legislative actions … and the state of California’s economy.
The letter was requested by Sen. Dave Cogdill, a Modesto Republican, also asserts that energy prices will rise as a result of the law.
