Indianapolis - The Indiana Manufacturers Association has expressed strong concerns with climate change legislation under consideration in Washington D.C. The United States Senate is poised to take up discussions on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, authored by Congressmen Waxman of California and Markey of Massachusetts.
The concern is based on a report issued last week by the National Association of Manufacturers predicting significant increases in the cost of energy and a general decline of economic conditions under the act. The report reveals that Indiana could be impacted as follows:
* Employment losses of up to 59,260 jobs
* Residential electricity price increases of up to 60 percent
* Gasoline price increases (per gallon) of up to 26 percent
The costs outlined in the report do not include the cost of compliance and are representative only of the cost of credits envisioned under the legislation.
"The solution to climate change passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June would cripple Indiana's economy and significantly harm manufacturing as a whole,' said Patrick J. Kiely, President of the Indiana Manufacturers Association (IMA). The IMA is concerned that energy prices would dramatically increase in the wake of the Waxman-Markey legislation and yield little, if any, environmental benefit.
Kiely went on to say, "Indiana is one of the most manufacturing-intensive states in the nation, and Congress must be very careful in their actions to address climate change. Creating an entirely new market for carbon credits that could be held hostage by foreign nations is a bad idea.'
Recently, members of the U.S. Senate sent word to President Obama that stronger controls are needed to prevent the importation of overseas goods produced with no consideration of greenhouse gas emissions.
"The IMA is pleased that Senator Evan Bayh and other senators from industrialized states are taking a hard look at climate change,' said Kiely. The difficulty, according to the IMA, with capping greenhouse gases domestically is that the goods will simply be produced in other parts of the world and the goal of attempting to address climate will go unrealized.
More information on the study can be found at: http://www.accf.org/media/docs/nam/2009/Indiana.pdf.
The contact person on this issue is Patrick Bennett, V.P. of Environment, Energy and Infrastructure at the Indiana Manufacturers Association. Contact Patrick at pbennett@imaweb.com or 317-632-2474.
The Indiana Manufacturers Association, Indiana's leading voice for industry, was formed in 1901. The IMA is a business advocacy organization representing nearly 1,600 Indiana companies and promoting economic development and the creation of high-wage jobs in Indiana.
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