Congress is considering establishing a cap and trade system to reduce carbon emissions which are a principle cause of climate change. Essentially, the legislation proposes limits on carbon dioxide emissions through the buying and selling of carbon credits. Businesses that exceed the limits would buy carbon credits from companies that are under the limit, and the credits would be publicly traded by commodity brokers.
That would affect 10 specific industries, including petroluem refiners, steel, glass, and aluminum makers - all prevalent in Ohio.
Combined, the targeted industries employ more than four million people nationally...about 195,000 in Ohio, according to the Economic Policy Institute, the Washington, D.C. based think tank that released today's report that urges caution on emissions caps.
Dr. Robert Scott, the principal author.
DR. ROBERT SCOTT: "If we do the policies that we're developing now; if we make them intellegently, if we do them well, they can support creation of millions of jobs in the United States, but if they're done poorly, they're a threat to a number of energy and greenhouse gas intensive manufacturing industries."
Scott and some other analysts fear U.S. manufacturing companies might shift production to non-regulated nations with higher pollution levels, lowering their producting costs. The report says Ohio stands to lose more jobs from cap and trade than any other states except Texas and California.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is one of five Democratic Senators who recently asked President Obama to slow all this down and conduct more study of the economic impact cap and trade could have on the U.S. He cites today's report as evidence that this route to pollution control needs a lot of reworking.
SENATOR SHERROD BROWN: "It makes no sense for a plant to be closed here because we followed the international climate rules, the international environmental rules, and open up in another country that doesn't follow them. They should not be rewarded for that, because all of the world suffers as a result."
The House passed cap and trade legislation in June; the Senate is still working on its version.
