 PERI's research on environmental & energy economics explores how to integrate the goals of environmental protection and improved economic well-being for working people. Topics include the employment impacts of the transition to clean energy; the distributional implications of alternative climate policies; corporate responsibility for industrial pollution; and policies to safeguard natural assets as the common heritage of humankind. Revisiting the Myth of the Environment Versus the EconomySeptember 2012 -- In recent years, support for the green investment agenda has eroded substantially, while the position that we can protect the environment or expand jobs, but can’t do both at once, has regained traction. Three main factors drive this reversal: the view that the 2009 green stimulus failed to deliver its promised jobs; an increasing perception that renewable energy is impractical; and the potential for cheap oil and gas from Northern Alberta and fracking technology. Robert Pollin addresses these issues, and spells out how a clean-energy agenda can still simultaneously promote a healthy environment and a strong economy. >> Download “Getting Real on Jobs and the Environment: Pipelines, Fracking, or Clean Energy?” The Benefits of Setting Limits on Non-Carbon EmissionsJames Boyce and Manuel Pastor make the case for extending climate change policy beyond greenhouse gases, to consider the air quality benefits of the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. They find that the same industrial facilities that emit large amounts of carbon often emit other harmful pollutants that impact the health of nearby residents. Since these facilities are often located in or near low-income and minority communities, bringing these “co-pollutants” into a climate policy would promote environmental equity as well as economic efficiency, yielding benefits that could be comparable those of carbon reduction itself. >> Download “Cooling the Planet, Clearing the Air: Climate Policy, Carbon Pricing, and Co-Benefits” The Toxic 100 Air Polluters: Fourth Edition
The Broad Benefits of Building RetrofitsMarch 2012 -- As part of efforts to reduce urban emissions, many cities and states are now requiring building owners and operators to disclose building energy performance. Such policies are expected to expand significantly in the coming years. In this study, produced with the Institute for Market Transformation, Heidi Garrett-Peltier analyzes the broader impact of these policies. She finds that they have the potential to create more than 23,000 new jobs in 2015 and more than 59,000 in 2020, along with significant savings in costs and energy consumption. The E.P.A.: A Phantom MenaceAugust 2011 -- Heidi Garrett-Peltier's column for Dollars & Sense explores the economic impact of pending E.P.A. air quality regulations. The False Dichotomy of EnvironmentalismAugust 2011 -- James K. Boyce describes how a false dichotomy between humans versus nature threatens environmental progress. Creating Jobs through Better BuildingsJune 2011 -- In this research brief, Heidi Garrett-Peltier estimates the employment impacts of President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative: a set of tax code changes, lending programs, and a competitive grant program, designed to incentivize private investment in energy-efficiency upgrades to commercial buildings. She finds that through combined public and private investments, over 114,000 jobs can be created through the Initiative. This brief presents the tables and methodology used to derive this employment estimate. >> Download “Employment Estimates for Energy Efficiency Retrofits of Commercial Buildings" A Plan for a Sustainable U.S. Chemical IndustryMay 2011 -- In this report examining the U.S. chemical industry, James Heintz and Robert Pollin show that a shift to the production of chemicals that are safer for workers, the environment, and our health can create jobs and new markets. The industry has shed 300,000 jobs since 1992, and has under-invested in research and development. These job losses, and their continuation under the status quo, are not inevitable. The study finds that shifting the chemical industry towards greater disclosure, appropriate regulation (such as reform of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act), and long-run sustainability would encourage innovation, support competitiveness, and renew American manufacturing jobs. >> Download "The Economic Benefits of a Green Chemical Industry in the United States: Renewing Manufacturing Jobs While Protecting Health and the Environment" The Pillars of Successful Climate PolicyMay 2011 -- James K. Boyce outlines four pillars of a successful climate policy: action, adaptation, co-benefits, and dividends. The Fair Sharing of Our Environmental HeritageFebruary 2011 -- James K. Boyce's acceptance speech for the Common Heritage Award explores the meaning of an environment that belongs in common and equal measure to all. Regulating Airborne Emissions: Creating Jobs & Cleaner Energy February 2011 -- In this study commissioned by Ceres, James Heintz, Heidi Garrett-Peltier, and Ben Zipperer examine the economic impacts of air pollution regulations forthcoming from the Environmental Protection Agency: the Clean Air Transport Rule governing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, and the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Utility Boilers rule, which will set limits for hazardous air pollutants. Focusing on 36 states, the study assesses the potential employment impacts of the transformation of the nation’s energy generation plants to a cleaner, more efficient fleet, through investments in pollution controls and the retirement of outdated plants. >> Download “New Jobs — Cleaner Air: Employment Effects Under Planned Changes to the EPA’s Air Pollution Rules” The Perverse Incentives of Cap-and-TradeDecember 2010 -- James K. Boyce describes how "cap-and-giveaway-and-trade" has established perverse incentives and allowed polluters to appropriation our air and water. Is Environmental Justice Good for White Folks?July 2010 -- Michael Ash, James Boyce, Grace Chang and Helen Scharber examine how exposure to toxic air pollution from industrial facilities in the U.S. varies according to race, ethnicity, income and other factors. Using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators project, the authors find that, in keeping with prior research, within any given urban area, racial and ethnic minorities tend to face greater exposure to these toxins. But they go on to find that the extent of the disparity of exposure in an urban area is positively correlated with levels of exposure: when wide racial and ethnic disparities in exposure levels are found, average exposures tend to be higher not only for minorities but for whites as well. The Economic Impacts of the CLEAR Act March 2010 -- Congress is expected to take up the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act in the coming months. In preparation for that debate, James K. Boyce and Matthew E. Riddle have updated earlier analyses of the household-level impacts of the cap-and-dividend plan, and how these differ among states. In their newest paper, the authors not only consider the specific parameters of the CLEAR Act, but also add an assessment of the state-by-state job creation from the bill. Boyce & Riddle find that interstate differences in the bill’s impact on household incomes are small: much smaller than differences across the income spectrum, and vastly smaller than the differences in other federal programs, such as defense spending. As a result, the CLEAR Act delivers positive net benefits to the majority of households in every state. Where there are interstate differences, Boyce & Riddle suggest ways in which the CLEAR Act could be modified to reduce or eliminate them altogether. The Toxic 100: Who Are the Worst Air Polluters in the U.S.?March 2010 -- The Toxic 100 Air Polluters index identifies the top U.S. air polluters among the world's largest corporations. The index relies on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Screening Environmental Indicators, which assesses the chronic human health risk from industrial toxic releases. Green Prosperity: How Clean-Energy Policies Can Fight Poverty and Raise Living Standards in the United States June 2009 -- “Green Prosperity: How Clean-Energy Policies Can Fight Poverty and Raise Living Standards in the United States,” by Robert Pollin, Jeannette Wicks-Lim, and Heidi Garrett-Peltier (co-commissioned by Natural Resources Defense Council and Green For All), considers the employment and other policy effects of a $150 billion annual investment in clean energy (from a combination of public and private sources) in terms of its ability to raise living standards for lower-income workers and families. This report shows that investments in clean energy can benefit lower-income families first by expanding job opportunities, and also by lowering household utility bills through energy efficiency investments and transportation costs by making public transportation more accessible. Together with the co-released report "Economic Benefits," (above) these reports significantly strengthen our understanding of how a transition to a clean-energy economy can play a major part in lifting the U.S. out of the current recession, and setting us on a course towards both environmental sustainability and raising living standards, especially for lower-income workers and their families. The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy June 2009 -- “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy: How the Economic Stimulus Program and New Legislation Can Boost U.S. Economic Growth and Employment,” by Robert Pollin, James Heintz, and Heidi Garrett-Peltier, (commissioned by the Center for American Progress) assesses the cumulative economic impact of the clean-energy aspects of the American Clean Energy and Security Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and estimates the employment effects of the $150 billion in annual public and especially private clean-energy investment they are likely to encourage. The study also considers the potential impact of these policy initiatives on long-term economic growth, and assesses the range of models which have been used to estimate the economic impact of cap-and-trade legislation. "Economic Benefits" includes fact sheets for each of the fifty states which show the specific clean-energy investment level likely to occur in that state, and estimate the statewide macroeconomic impacts of that investment. >> Download “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy" Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy September 2008 -- In this major report produced with the Center for American Progress, PERI economists examine the benefits of a rapid program of private and public investments in clean energy. Green Recovery – A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy, models the impact of a $100 billion government-financed program that would combine tax credits and loan guarantees for private businesses with direct public investment spending. The authors, Robert Pollin, Heidi Garrett-Peltier, James Heintz and Helen Scharber, estimate that this combination of private and public investments aimed at jumpstarting a low-carbon economy would create two million jobs throughout the country over a two-year period. This short-term stimulus program is the first of a two-stage collaboration. Later this fall, PERI and CAP will publish a long-term economic program built on renewable energy and efficiency. Job Opportunities for the Green Economy: A State-by-State Picture of Occupations that Gain from Green Investments June 2008 -- In this report, commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council and coalition of environmental and labor organizations, PERI Co-Director Robert Pollin and Assistant Research Professor Jeannette Wicks-Lim provide a snapshot of the kinds of jobs are needed to build a green economy in the United States. They focus on six key strategies for attacking global warming and highlight some of the major “green jobs” associated with each of these approaches. For earlier PERI research on Environmental and Energy Economics, please go to the program archive page. |
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This new edition of the Toxic 100 Air Polluters index identifies the top U.S. air polluters among the world's largest corporations. Using Environmental Protection Agency data, the rankings take into account the quantity of releases, the toxicity of chemicals, prevailing winds, height of smokestacks, the number of people exposed, and the pollution share borne by minorities and low-income communities. Project directors James K. Boyce & Michael Ash provide this tool for corporate watchdogs and activist shareholders in their ongoing effort “to engender public participation in environmental decision-making, and to help residents translate the right to know into the right to clean air.
