Coalition for Affordable American Energy

<p><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/industry-funded-study-predicts-economic-doom-obama-climate-proposal">http://www.desmogblog.com/industry-funded-study-predicts-economic-doom-obama-climate-proposal</a></p>

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grandia

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<p><span style=" color: #ED1C24;">A</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.uschamber.com/publications/reports/090428_climateprovision.htm" target="blank"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;">new study</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;"> </span></span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;">[1]</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;"> </span></span><span style=" color: #ED1C24;">sponsored by energy-intensive industries claims that the Obama administration's plan to impose a cap-and-trade system to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE53R68U20090428" target="blank"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;">result in 1.9 million job losses and cost the average U.S. household $1,400 a year by 2020</span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;"> </span></span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;"><span style=" color: #ED1C24;">[2]</span></span><span style=" color: #ED1C24;">.</span>

These industry estimates are wildly off the mark, of course.  The Environmental Protection Agency last week concluded that the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade legislation being debated by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would cost the average household just $98 to $140 a year through 2050.

The Coalition for Affordable American Energy, which commissioned the study, was<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402259_pf.html" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">formed in June 2008</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[3]</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Wholesalers-Distributors, and 73 other industry trade associations. 

The group<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2009/april/090428_economic.htm" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">currently claims more than 180 associations as members</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[4]</span>, including dozens of local chapters of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. and such noteworthy partners as the International Association of Ice Cream Vendors and the Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution.  (The group has no website of its own, all of its online communications are<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2009/april/090428_economic.htm" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which calls itself a "key player" in CAAE</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[4]</span>.)

The Coalition for Affordable American Energy<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-12-092.asp" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">last made headlines</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[5]</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>when the group’s leaders met with former President Bush in August 2008 to lobby for increased domestic oil and gas drilling both offshore and in environmentally sensitive areas of Alaska. "I agree with them," Bush said at the time.

The Coalition for Affordable American Energy is now<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://thehill.com/business--lobby/costly-cap-2009-04-28.html" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">working to update the report</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[6]</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>based on the Waxman-Markey bill, which – unlike Obama’s original proposal - allows for some carbon credits to be given away for free and includes the use of carbon offsets instead of actual emissions cuts.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

As<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://thehill.com/business--lobby/costly-cap-2009-04-28.html" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Hill points out<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></a><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[6]</span>in their coverage of these studies, it’s “important to remember what the studies don’t predict: the economic ramifications of a warming planet.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>

Nobody knows for sure what the costs of rising temperatures in the next few decades will be for American businesses and households.  But it’s definitely not chump change.</p>

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<div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/2518" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">National Association of Manufacturerson</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[7]</span></div>

<div class="field-item odd"><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/2521" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">U.S. Chamber of Commerce</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[8]</span></div>

<div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/4306" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Coalition for Affordable American Energy</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[9]</span></div>

<div class="field-item odd"><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/4307" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Waxman-Markey</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[10]</span></div>

<div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/4308" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">climate legislation</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[11]</span></div>

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<div class="blogreadmore">Read more:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/industry-funded-study-predicts-economic-doom-obama-climate-proposal" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Surprise, Surprise! Industry-Funded Study Predicts Economic Doom From Obama Climate Proposal</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[12]</span></div>

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