Chamber predicts ‘big, economy-wide hit’ from new EPA emissions limits

Shauna Johnson

 

A new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, released Wednesday, showed proposals that would reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent before 2030 would shutdown a third of current coal capacity and could result in economic losses of as much as $50 billion a year and the elimination of as many as 224,000 jobs.

 

“You start looking at close to home there in West Virginia, you’re looking at — on an annual basis in the South Atlantic, it includes Appalachia — a $10 billion hit every year and 60,000 jobs lost every year,” said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.

 

“This is a big, economy-wide hit.”