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Climate Policy Report to the Southern Governors' Association Southern Regional Economic Assessment of Climate Policy Options and Review of Economic Studies of Climate Policy Report materials: A report produced for the Southern Governors' Association presents economy- and region-wide opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and evaluates their projected potential financial costs or savings. Prepared by The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), the report was commissioned as part of Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine's 2008-09 SGA Chairman's initiative that focused on engaging the region's governors in a dialogue about how best to understand and address climate change issues in the South. Titled "Southern Regional Economic Assessment of Climate Policy Options and Review of Economic Studies of Climate Policy," the report also contains a review and comparison of several dozen economic studies of relevance to the South, including a framework explanation of why some of these studies predict government action on climate will spur job growth and positive economic benefits, while others predict job losses and negative economic consequences. "During my tenure, I started a conversation on climate change and energy security that had not previously taken place in the South," said Governor Kaine. "Climate change and energy security policy decisions - whether they're made at the federal level, state level, or both - have tremendous implications for the region's future." The report prepared for SGA relied heavily on data developed from CCS' previous work with five Southern states (AR, FL, MD, NC, and SC) to help each develop its own comprehensive, stakeholder-driven climate action plan (all materials from those processes are linked in the left sidebar). Data from those plans was updated and supplemented with additional publicly available data to estimate the 16-state, 2-territory potential for emissions reductions and carbon sequestration from 23 major possible policy options by 2020 (listed below). CCS President and CEO Tom Peterson noted, "This study offers an important benchmark against which Southern Governors can measure the potential costs and savings of what have been found to be very effective policy options in some states. With this kind of analysis in their pocket, each Governor can better identify the steps that make the most immediate and cost effective impacts." The SGA region covers 16 states (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NC, OK, TN, TX, VA, and WV) as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Taken as a whole it represents the world's third largest economy, forty percent of the U.S. population and the nation's largest energy producing region. Much of the South has experienced rapid growth in the last decade. "Southern Regional Economic Assessment of Climate Policy Options and Review of Economic Studies of Climate Policy," is available at www.climatestrategies.us and www.southerngovernors.org, and was funded by grants from the Merck Family Fund, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Turner Foundation.
See also: Thomas Peterson's presentation at the Southern Governors' Annual Meeting |
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 Obama Gets a Menu of Climate Actions He Can Take Without Congress President Obama could invoke strong climate policies, like gasoline carbon limits, without congressional input before world leaders convene this fall to negotiate an international global warming treaty, a research group says in a plan provided to the administration. Whitman & Peterson: Climate Bill Should Top the Congress’ To-Do List As Congress approaches the August recess, our economy, energy and environmental security needs still top the to-do list of the president and Congress. This summer the Center for Climate Strategies and the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition have outlined how Congress can put a national strategy in place that gets all three on the same page: by passing comprehensive national climate change and energy policy that reflects our best policy options for immediate action. New Climate and Energy Policies Could Create 2.5 Million Jobs, Hold Down Energy Costs July 22, 2010 -- New greenhouse gas emissions and energy policies at the Federal level could generate as many as 2.5 million new jobs and $134 billion in economic activity in the U.S. while keeping energy costs down, according to a new report from the Center for Climate Strategies, published with Johns Hopkins University. Colorado legislature raises state RES, move seen creating jobs A coalition of stakeholders who worked on the Colorado Climate Panel's were critical to the new legislation’s passage. Since investor-owned utilities supply 60% of Colorado’s electricity, this implements most of the Panel recommendation (adopted by the Governor) on renewable energy standards (RES). more news |
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