The Obama administration’s environmental policies could result in devastating job losses in manufacturing and mining across the country, a state-by-state analysis conducted by the Heritage Foundation has found.
“The Obama Administration’s Climate Agenda Will Hit Manufacturing Hard: A State-by-State Analysis,” released February 17, builds on earlier research evaluating the economic impact of the Obama administration’s climate policies. In this new study, the researchers break down the employment impacts of new regulations by state and congressional district.
“The Obama Administration has put forward a variety of rules and goals aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions. These rules would drive up energy costs, reduce economic activity, and disrupt job markets,” the researchers write.
“One of the surprising conclusions in the Heritage study is job losses in manufacturing are large even in states that already have high electricity costs, such as California and New York,” said Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Manufacturing Hit Hard
Because the study estimates manufacturing jobs will be disproportionately affected by the new rules, states with large manufacturing sectors could experience disproportionate job losses.
“California, New York, and the northeast states are already committed to economically destructive policies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, so I doubt their governors and state legislators will pay much attention to the Heritage study,” Ebell said.
By 2030, Obama’s climate policies will cause the loss of 586,000 manufacturing jobs, the study found. California tops all states with an expected loss of 65,330 jobs.
“This study should strengthen the determination of elected officials, in states that want to continue to grow economically, to oppose the EPA regulations,” Ebell said.
Alyssa Carducci ([email protected]) writes from Tampa, Florida.
INTERNET INFO
Kevin D. Dayaratna, Nicolas D. Loris, and David W. Kreutzer, “The Obama Administration’s Climate Agenda Will Hit Manufacturing Hard: A State-by-State Analysis” (February 17, 2015). https://www.heartland.org/policy-documents/obama-administrations-climate-agenda-will-hit-manufacturing-hard-state-state-analys
