Tomorrow Senator Hatch is hosting a forum in Salt Lake City with Governor Herbert on the issue of our national energy policy. In particular, they're going to examine the impact of the cap-and-tax -- also known as "cap-and-trade" -- energy policy that Democrats in Washington are pursuing.
Earlier this summer, the U.S. House of Representatives passed this bill, and it is now being considered in the U.S. Senate. This forum tomorrow will specifically look at how this energy tax policy will impact the state of Utah and its citizens.
If you would like to attend, please see more details below.
During a Senate Finance Committee hearing yesterday, Senator Hatch grilled economists on the impact of the Democrats' cap-and-tax scheme.
Here are a few of the questions and answers with Anne Smith, Practice Leader of Climate and Sustainability of CRA International:
Q. Do you believe that implementing a cap-and-trade program or a carbon tax would result in net job losses?
A. Yes
Q. Some climatologists believe that implementing a cap-and-trade or a program that would reduce carbon emissions by 83 percent in the year 2050 would reduce temperatures by only nine-hundredths of 1 degree Fahrenheit. Are we sacrificing million of jobs in order to reduce climate change by nine-hundredths of 1 degree?
A. The precise level of U.S. emissions will not affect climate risks in any quantifiable way if they are on a general track towards near-zero emissions. This is particularly true because global climate outcomes over the next century will be determined by controls on developing country emissions much more so than by a few percentage points of difference in U.S. emissions during the next couple of decades.
