Energy myth twelve-climate policy will bankrupt the U.S. economy

Abstract

A common argument for not taking action - or at least delaying action - on climate change is that the cost of action is too high. President Bush, for example, justified rejecting the Kyoto Protocol because of the expense, noting in a speech to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that it would cost the United States $400 billion and 4.9 million jobs (Whitehouse, 2002). The American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), an industry funded advocacy group, also often cites high cost, job losses, and overall - damaging economic consequences, as justification for rejecting any type of mandatory climate policy at the state or federal level (Thorning, 2006a-c). Repeating these same arguments over and over, it does not matter which policy is proposed - all are too expensive.