Economics a false rationale for delaying action on climate change

"[T]he weight of economic evidence supports immediate policy measures to address climate change. These studies show that the cost of preventing climate change can be addressed efficiently and fairly, and that the costs pale in comparison to the costs of inaction."

Can the US Afford Cap-and-Trade?

by Kristen Sheeran Ph.D., Economics for Equity and the Environment

Many Americans are fearful that if we reduce our carbon footprint, we will compromise our quality of life. This fear, however, is unfounded as evidence from around the United States demonstrates. U.S. states vary only modestly in average incomes, but have widely differing per capita emissions.

States like New York, California, Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have per capita emissions roughly one-half of the U.S. average and comparable to per capita emissions in Japan, German, Belgium, and Denmark. They prove that it is possible to have a US lifestyle, with a European sized carbon footprint! If all fifty U.S. states could emulate the per capita emissions of these states, we would go a long way toward our national emissions goals.

In our latest report, Greenhouse Gases and the American Lifestyle: Understanding Interstate Differences in Emissions, we analyze interstate variation in per capita emissions from residential fuel use, electricity use and transportation. Our report finds that the variation in states emissions is the result of many factors, some more controllable than others.

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