EPA Says Senate Climate Bill Would Cost Less than $1 a Day

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday released its cost analysis of the American Power Act, finding that it would cost American families less than a dollar a day to establish the carbon capping measures proposed in the bill.

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) unveiled the bill in May. It roughly aligns with the climate bill passed in the U.S. House last summer. However, most Capitol Hill observers say it has only a thin chance of even reaching the Senate floor. 

A more likely scenario is that climate measures from the bill will be offered as amendments to a smaller energy bill. But even this is far from guaranteed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to choose a legislative path in the next few days. 

Time is running out to do anything before the campaign season takes over for November elections. But Democrats are feeling the urgency to act on energy legislation, as a response to the ongoing gulf oil spill. 

Cost Analysis

The EPA’s analysis of the American Power Act shows it would dramatically cut global warming pollution, lower household energy bills through 2020, and only marginally increase annual average household costs between 2010 and 2050.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) called the bill “a low cost investment that would help create the clean energy jobs of the future and avoid the much higher costs of doing nothing.”

The EPA analysis is available at the link below.

The ClimateWorks Foundation also released an analysis of the bill finding that it would create 440,000 additional jobs in an average year through 2020, and 540,000 additional jobs in an
average year through 2030.

Their analysis also shows a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 3.6 billion tons per year in 2030–a 45% reduction compared to business as usual. And it claims the U.S. will maintain an average annual growth rate in GDP of 2.3% through 2030, if the bill becomes law.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released a separate analysis of the bill, which finds that by enhancing the energy efficiency provisions in the legislation, the number of jobs created could nearly triple, energy savings could quadruple, and consumer savings could increase by about $200 per household per year.

The advocacy group said the bill is a "significant stride in the right direction," but could do more to incentivize energy efficiency.