A Carbon Cap Will Unleash Investment

The scale of our new energy economy will dwarf the Internet boom

Posted: 30-Jan-2009; Updated: 21-May-2009

A national carbon cap will spur large-scale development of clean energy, helping to revitalize the economy and create millions of new jobs. Once we commit to reducing global warming pollution, we'll launch a new sector of the economy, and boost traditional manufacturing to supply the parts and products needed for the next frontier in American business.

When we commit to cutting emissions, entrepreneurs can invest without fear of changing policies.

• Industry can plan, invest and grow. With a clear and specific cap and future benchmarks, industry can make long-term investments to meet emissions targets through large-scale clean energy projects. They can make strategic plans, build plants, and hire workers.
• The cost of not acting will be very high. Companies like General Electric, ConocoPhillips and PepsiCo have become aggressive advocates for a cap to fight global warming. They understand that damage from climate change will ripple across all sectors of the economy.

A Carbon Cap will create jobs for generations to come

Projections and studies indicate that a carbon cap will generate a groundswell of investment and green jobs.

• Jobs throughout the supply chain. To put the employment opportunities under a carbon cap economy in perspective, a single wind turbine has more than 8,000 parts: cement, steel, ball bearings, copper wiring, and more. Demand for clean energy instantly creates new orders, new customers and new jobs for the companies and workers who make them.
• Growth in manufacturing communities.
  • Our online map identifies more than 1,200 companies in key manufacturing states poised to grow their business and create new jobs under a carbon cap.
  • A recent Duke University study analyzed the supply chains of five carbon-reducing technologies. It found that American manufacturing could see significant growth with the emergence of a green economy spurred by a cap and trade system. For example:
  • The report cites Durham-based Cree, which makes chips used in LED lighting, as an example of the growth possible in the green industry. Since 2002, its work force has almost quadrupled to more than 3,000 employees.
  • A high-performance window has about 10 components and each component requires materials and labor to produce (people have to create glass and frames and foam, move the windows from factories to stores, etc.). This is just one industry out of hundreds in the emerging green sector (see page 29 of the study).