The San Joaquin Valley is reaping more than $13 billion in economic benefits from California’s climate change policies, according to the first comprehensive academic cost-benefit study.
The report shows that California’s renewable energy requirements for investor-owned utilities gave the San Joaquin Valley the biggest economic boost. Construction and operation of renewable energy projects have created 31,000 jobs since 2002. The state’s cap-and-trade policies that reduce carbon emissions were also examined.
“Specifically cap and trade contributed $119 million in direct economic benefits for the valley,” says Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, a nonpartisan non-profit research group that commissioned the report.
He says researchers accounted for job losses and compliance costs but still found a net positive economic impact.
“One of the things that surprised me was the economic effects taking place so quickly after the institution of the cap-and-trade program,” says Perry.
The report was conducted by UC Berkeley’s School of Law and its Center for Law, Energy and the Environment.CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
