New Business Roundtable Study Identifies Policies To Boost Reductions In GHG Emissions, While Minimizing Economic Consequences

Washington – Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies, today released an economic modeling study with policy recommendations that have the potential to deliver approximately twice the greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions at roughly half the economic cost of emissions-limiting legislation that doesn’t address obstacles to emissions reduction. The study, The Balancing Act: Climate Change, Energy Security & the U.S. Economy, modeled the cost and benefits of removing critical barriers to technology development and deployment in carbon-pricing policies.

“As business leaders, the members of Business Roundtable are committed to taking action to limit GHG emissions and put our nation on a more sustainable path,” said Michael G. Morris, Chairman, President and CEO, American Electric Power and Chair of Business Roundtable’s Sustainable Growth Initiative. “However, we know that addressing climate change is going to seriously strain our economy. We conducted this study to determine the best ways to cut GHG levels while minimizing the economic impact. We found that a successful policy for reducing GHGs must leverage a balanced portfolio of technologies and eliminate barriers to technology development and deployment. Only this combination will allow us to successfully reduce GHG emissions without significantly hampering economic growth.”