SOLAR TODAY - June 2011

advancing clean air regulation

pHOTO COURTESy OF CUpERTiNO ElECTRiC

This year the EPA will propose greenhouse gas standards for new power plants and oil refineries, sectors that account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Participation by the renewable energy industry could help to make these new regulations as strict as possible.

the EPA, the lack of participation from renewable energy companies leaves the court with the erroneous impression that the cases are a battle between the EPA and business. The renewable energy industry is the most effective advocate for its low-carbon economic growth and job creation potential and for reducing the unfair competitive advantages maintained by the current cost-free approach to greenhouse gas pollution.

In its 2009 report, “Estimating the Jobs Impact of Tackling Climate Change,” ASES demonstrated that the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries had already generated 9 million jobs and $1 trillion in revenue in the United States ( ases.org/greenjobs). According to the report, if the United States adopted aggressive strategies for reducing greenhouse gases, these industries could generate 37 million jobs and more than $4 trillion in revenue by 2030, while reducing American carbon dioxide emissions by 30 to 40 percent.

The EPA greenhouse gas regulations are under legal assault by the same interests that derailed a national energy and climate bill in 2010. If these cases succeed, they will eliminate the only remaining option for national limits on greenhouse gas emissions.