Poll: AB 32's glaring weakness -- CA-only costs

EMC Research released a follow-up poll today to the one they did a year ago on Californian's attitudes toward AB 32 and the state's desire to go it alone.

There were two major take-aways from the poll.   Overall, the public is more sensitive than ever to cost issues (with strong support for AB 32 dropping from 31% to 15% since EMC's 2008 poll), and a large majority (66%) of the public says California should not go it alone on greenhouse gas reductions regulations.   A month before a long awaited second economic analysis by the California Air Resources Board, it is clear that costs must drive AB 32 policies and regulations.

The state's greenhouse reduction program is not a freebie.  Large costs foisted on an unemployment-riddled state economy and increased industry electricity rates already 95 percent higher than western competitor states are not affordable at this time, if ever.  The above poll numbers, 600,000 lost manufacturing jobs since 2001, 12.3% unemployment, and the electricity rates below provide some of the most rational context for the AB 32 policy debate.  In other words, how can we implement the program so it doesn't hurt the state's economy and jobs, and in a manner that gets the whole country to help reduce global warming emissions?






 

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