How policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could effect employment

Description

from the CBO: "CBO has analyzed the research on the effects that policies to reduce green house gases would have on employment and concluded that total employment during the next few decades would be slightly lower than would be the case in the absence of such policies. In particular, job losses in the industries that shrink would lower employment more than job gains in other industries would increase employment, thereby raising the overall unemployment rate. Eventually, however, most workers who lost jobs would find new ones. In the absence of policies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, changes to the climate also might affect employment; however, this brief does not address such changes because that effect would probably arise after the next few decades, and it has not been studied as carefully by researchers." This brief summarizes the findings of three studies which used general equilibrium models to project employment impacts: Ho, Morgensterns and Shih, (2008) Impact of carbon price policies on U.S. Industry. Washington: Resources for the Future; McKibbin et al, (2009) Consequences of alternative U.S. Cap-and-Trade policies. Washington, Brookings Institution; and Montgomery et al (2009) Impact on the economy of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R.2454). CRA International.