Climate Change Bill Will Have Adverse Economic Consequences

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives could vote on perhaps the most destructive legislation in our country's history by the end of this week, said Murray Energy Corp. President and CEO Robert Murray in a June 24 Op-Ed that appeared in Investor's Business Daily.

The Waxman-Markey "tax bill" in the guise of addressing climate change will have adverse and lingering affects on the American economy. Costs for electricity in our homes, fuel for our vehicles and energy used for manufacturing will rise because the legislation.

The bill will have greatest effect on economies in the Midwest, South and Rocky Mountains that rely upon coal for electricity. "Wealth will be transferred away from almost every state to the West Coast and New England," said Murray. The legislation sets caps on carbon dioxide emissions that will force utilities to switch from coal to other higher priced energy sources. These prices are then passed on to the consumer, raising energy costs.

Moreover, Murray wrote, the legislation's environmental impact is suspect because other polluting nations in the world oppose carbon emission caps. China alone, which already emits more carbon dioxide than the U.S., brings a coal-fired power plant online every week.

Instead of improving the global climate, these emission caps will actually make energy intensive sectors in the U.S. such as manufacturing less competitive abroad, he wrote.