California has a reputation for progressive climate policies, and a new study shows it’s having an economic impact the San Joaquin Valley.
Over $13 billion: That’s how much the state's climate policies have delivered to the San Joaquin Valley, according to a study out of UC Berkeley and the non-profit group Next 10. The group’s founder, Noel Perry, says those benefits included tax revenues, direct investment in local businesses, and nearly 40,000 jobs.
"I think it’s interesting to see the San Joaquin Valley as a bellwether for climate policy," Perry says--"that if climate policies can work in the Valley, it seems like they have a good chance of working other places."
These benefits are derived from energy efficiency projects, renewable portfolio standards, and the state’s cap and trade program that may be discontinued in 2020.
The study recommends continuing these climate and energy initiatives, as well as creating programs to help workers transition out of the Valley’s most greenhouse gas-emitting industries.
