A new study claims that the proposed Global Warming Solutions Act or Assembly Bill 32 will only cause the average price of retail goods to rise by less than 0.1 percent by 2020 – exactly three cents more for a year’s worth of tortillas.
The report based its assumptions on the Mercado International 2000, a San Diego-based grocery store and tortilla production factory. The business was chosen because of its above-average energy consumption in a highly competitive industry, ensuring that the study would deliver a conservative estimate of the proposed legislation’s potential economic repercussions.
The new report further confirms the results of a previous study in 2009 that concludes the legislation’s economic impact on small business to be modest.
«This study has shown me that our store can continue providing our customers with excellent customer service, fresh products, and affordable groceries while reducing our own energy use and helping the state meet its clean energy and climate goals. It’s a win-win-win situation,» noted Gerardo Hererra, the owner of Mercado International 2000.
While a number of businesses and sectors are expected to suffer more than others, new business opportunities will sprout out as a result of the climate change regulations.
The climate bill intends to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 25 percent based on 1990 levels by 2020. The legislation is being countered by Proposition 23, which aims to suspend the legislation until state unemployment stays below 5.5 percent across four consecutive quarters.
The Brattle Groups expects that the proposed legislation will incite the creation of new policies such as a carbon pricing, an influx in energy efficiency measures and a low-carbon fuel standard. California has already adopted a new renewable energy standard, mandating that all electric utilities across the state source 33 percent of retail electric sales from renewable energy sources by 2020.
«I have taken a number of modest steps to improve energy efficiency in my business, all of which have benefitted my bottom line and given me a competitive advantage,» said Thomas Ackerman, vice president of Spirit Graphics in Chula Vista and member of the California Business Alliance for a Green Economy.
«This study confirms what I already knew: A.B. 32 won’t hurt small businesses, and in the long term, it will be good for California companies,» he concluded.
