Clean Energy Law Would Boost Jobs, Economy, Study Says

Comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation now before Congress could create 13,000 jobs in Montana by 2020 and would increase average household incomes in the state, according to research announced today by environmental groups.

The groups releasing the information include Climate Solutions and Montana Business Leaders for Clean Energy; CERES; the Clean Economy Network; and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

According to the groups, “clean energy legislation would create 918,000 to 1.9 million new jobs nationally, and increase national GDP by $39 billion to $111 billion more than what would occur without the legislation.”

In Montana, passage of the legislation would increase the GDP by as much as $500 million a year, and could increase annual average household income by as much as $1,700, the study shows. (To read the study in full, go to E2’s list of individual states, and click on Montana.)

The research—a collaborative effort by the University of California, Yale University and the University of Illinois—looked at the impacts of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, which is being heard this week in the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. The legislation calls for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and a cap-and-trade program for reducing carbon emissions.

Here are some highlights from the study, taken verbatim from the groups’ announcement:

–”Montana has significant and largely untapped potential renewable resources, particularly in wind power and biofuels.”

– “Energy efficiency provisions in the legislation will reduce the costs for transportation, heating, electricity, etc., saving households, farmers and ranchers, and businesses money—money they can spend on domestic goods and services and create jobs.”

–”Clean energy legislation will strengthen national security by reducing America’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.”