Americans Can Save More Money by Not Burning It: Study

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-10/americans-can-save-more-money-by-not-burning-it-study.html



Climate change policy is often assumed to be a lose-lose proposition. Nations can pay now for expensive carbon-reduction policies, or they can pay later -- potentially a lot more -- through destructive climate-related events like storms, droughts and flooding.

In the U.S., however, that take may not be correct, according to a new study by the environmental group World Resources Institute. It says that improving buildings' energy efficiency, boosting the fuel-economy of automobiles and cutting leaks from the production and transport of natural gas can save money now and cut climate change later.

GDP growth and energy use historically tend to be coupled, moving up and down in near unison. The U.S. economy since the early 1990s has demonstrated that’s not necessarily the case, at least to the degree commonly assumed. “Climate change itself imposes economic costs,” the report states, “and reducing each ton of greenhouse gas emissions has a value that is not currently internalized in the U.S. economy.''



Efficiency -- either for buildings or vehicles -- is an obvious case in which cutting carbon means cost savings. Less energy use means lower fuel bills. Cutting methane leaks is another: the natural gas production and transport companies can make money selling the methane that doesn't leak into the atmosphere.