California's Energy-Efficiency Policies Create Jobs

In these days of financial worries, also California wonders if its efforts against climate change are too costly for the State economy.

The answer seems to come from a research conducted by economist David Roland-Holst, from the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability of the University of California, Berkeley. The study reveals that the environmental policy the state of California has been carrying on in the last 30 years has been producing positive effects on employment and significantly boosting the State economy.
The actions so far taken in order to increase energy efficiency saved $56 billions on energy costs and created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000.
Furthermore, the money saved thanks to the reduction in household energy consumption allowed consumers a higher expenditure in other sectors, fuelling the economy along the entire business chain.
 
California is about to implement new aggressive environmental policies as a consequence of the more stringent regulation about greenhouse gases signed into law two years ago, and the beneficial effects on the economy are likely to continue also in the future.
“As the financial world’s uncertainty continues to be the cause of anxiety and fear about the future, this report provides hard evidence that energy efficiency and innovation can pave the way to economic security and growth,” said F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, the non-partisan non-profit organization that sponsored the research. “Whether or not we take that path depends on policy to encourage it.”

For more information and to download the complete study please visit:

http://www.next10.org/research_eeijc.html